This week’s Billboard 200 albums chart is headed by Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1, while the lead single Carnival debuted close to the top of the Hot 100.
These results represent a strong showing for the new record despite its contentious release that was clouded by threats of lawsuits, the removal from Apple Music, and West’s long-running antisemitic scandals.
During a break from social media in June 2023, Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign were spotted together in Japan recording music, which led to the idea for the album.
After creating Burn, the two focused on their ¥$ brand as Y3’s recording sessions began.
On October 5, 2023, Ty Dolla $ign deleted all of the posts from his Instagram account and shared a distorted white screen with the caption “¥$” on his Instagram Story.
Related stories
Ty later posted the first completed tracklist for the album on Instagram one month after the release of the lead single, on December 8, 2023.
Three days later, Ye revealed the title along with the December 15 release date. Despite several technical problems, including incomplete songs, the Vulture Rave occurred on December 12.
Vulture was originally scheduled for release on December 31, 2023, but was postponed until January 12, January 19, and finally the February 9, 2024 release on Apple streaming services due to a lack of feature and sample clearances and an incomplete mix.
On February 8, 2024, an official Vulture listening party took place, but the majority of the tracks were still undergoing revisions. The songs were completed in time for the following day’s album release celebration in New York City, and on February 10, they were gradually made available on streaming services.
Ye’s own record label, YZY, released the album which had left many waiting with bated breath.
This is the first studio album by Ty Dolla $ign and Kanye West to be released outside of a major music label system. Vulture 1 is, however, seemingly doing so well in the streaming world.
Kanye’s album comes after a series of hate speeches and antisemitic comments which caused record labels and apparel brands to distance themselves from Ye. All of Ye’s prior studio albums, including his most recent widely accessible album, 2021’s Donda, were released by Def Jam.