Kanye West has been one of the most-talked-about musicians in the world for nearly 20 years. He’s been recognized as much for his musical brilliance as for his headline-making antics and comments–both good and horrible. Now, as he attempts to mount a musical comeback, it doesn’t appear many people are listening–or, at least not as many as he’s used to.
On November 22, West released his first new single in more than a year. Titled “Vultures,” the tune is credited to ¥$, a superduo made up of West and frequent collaborator Ty Dolla $ign. The track also features hip-hop artists Lil Durk and Bump J.
“Vultures” was one of the most highly-anticipated single releases of the latter half of 2023. Millions have been wondering what West’s next move will be as he looks to change the conversation around his name from controversy to music. Interestingly, it doesn’t appear the masses are really that interested in what he has to say these days—at least not on a song.
For the past year or so, when people talk about West, they have largely done so in regards to the antisemitic comments he’s made on social media and in multiple interviews. These statements led to the immediate implosion of West’s career. He was dropped by almost all of his endorsement and business deals, and many people who were close to the rapper cut ties. The frenzy has been ongoing, in part, as West hasn’t released anything to potentially give the media and fans anything else to talk about.
The announcement of “Vultures” was greeted with skepticism, as many were wary of West, and for good reason. Few entertainers could bounce back from his awful statements, ones which he has barely apologized for–if at all. The lyrics in his first song since his reputation took a nosedive didn’t help his case.
On “Vultures,” West doesn’t shy away from the controversy. Instead, he faces it head-on, but it doesn’t appear that doing so has done him any favors. On the track, West raps, “How I’m anti-semitic? I just f***** a Jewish b****.” This line was met with widespread condemnation, but even all the attention the song generated wasn’t enough to make it a hit.
In fact, “Vultures” appears to be a commercial failure. West is used to scoring huge hits, and even when his output was a bit too odd to top the Billboard charts, he still appeared on the Hot 100 more often than not with new releases. His fan base is so massive and dedicated, it’s odd to see him fail to appear on any rankings with a new release. Even stranger is the fact that his first tune to appear after a major controversy—when the world was theoretically watching and ready to listen—didn’t perform well at all.
“Vultures” has thus far failed to appear on any Billboard chart. It did earn several hundred thousand streams on Spotify each day in the first few days after it was released, but even on the company’s own ranking, it only peaked as high as No. 34. The track was not a commercial win, even though it could have possibly succeeded based solely off of expectations and interest.
The song is the first taste of a new album from West, made in collaboration with $ign. There is no word on when the project will drop, but it could arrive at any point. The two apparently had a difficult time finding any company interested in distributing it, as currently, West is still radioactive, and few want to come close to him. Now, based off of the failure of “Vultures,” it seems the public isn’t interested in him either.
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