KANYE MAKES ANOTHER MESS

The release of the latest Kanye West album, Vultures 1, a collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign, appears to be precisely the sort of clusterfuck that has become the norm for the troubled artist-producer. Originally scheduled for December 2023 and delayed multiple times this year, the album hit several of the streaming platforms early Saturday morning (2/10) and was pulled down around noon.

On Friday, a beef between West and Ozzy and Sharon Osborne surfaced over an uncleared Black Sabbath sample. Meanwhile, the Donna Summer estate is accusing Ye of copyright infringement for using Summer's "I Feel Love" without permission.

While these or other uncleared samples may be the reason for the takedowns, there’s thus far been no confirmation of what caused the independently distributed release (on the YZY label) to vanish at midday. For whatever reason, it seems to be available again—for the time being, at least.

Kanye's antisocial behavior, antisemitic remarks and other offensive public displays, which observers have attributed to various psychological issues, have led to his being canceled by a wide swath of industry folk and fans. But his work continues to command attention.

As of Sunday (2/11), "Talking" f/North West has jumped to #6 on Spotify US, up from #33." "Stars” sits at #17, “Carnival” at #21 and “Keys To My Life” at #32. However, all 16 songs from the album are completely absent from iTunes.

This is very much a developing story, so stay tuned.