This is the 2nd & seemingly final full-length LP from superduo ¥$ (pronounced Yen-Dolla or Ye n Dolla) consisting of Los Angeles, California singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & producer Ty$ alongside Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter, one of my top 10 producers of all-time, fashion designer, former G.O.O.D. Music founder Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West. We’ve seen them together a handful of times for nearly a decade on tracks like “Guard Down”, most specifically “Real Friends”, “Ego Death” & “Everything We Need”. However, the first installment of the Vultures trilogy came on the 20 year anniversary of my favorite Ye album The College Dropout to mixed reviews. Anthony Fantano even labeled it as “unreviewable trash” although I personally thought it had it’s highlights despite both KIDS SEE GHOSTS & Watch the Throne being significantly better. 5 months after it’s initial March date, Vultures 2 is finally here.
“Slide” is an impressive pop rap, hip house & alternative R&B crossover with additional elements of experimental hip hop that Ye, Wheezy, Fred again.., London on da Track & Leon Thomas III produced together asking Zalia & Bianca Censori if they would ride of them whereas “Time Moving Slow” turns the hip house influences up to 11 courtesy of The Legendary Traxster reflecting on past relationships although it’s gross that Ye has dominion over her.
Don Toliver, Kodak Black & Playboi Carti all join ¥$ for what could very well be the most anticipated track off the album “Field Trip” & it sure delivers with it’s alarm raising instrumental that Wheezy & Dez Wright cook up together sampling one of my favorite Portishead songs “Machine Gun” near the end getting romantic with their partners except Ye briefly using AI for his part was pointless prior to the rage-inducing “Fried” coming off a spiritual successor to “Carnival” reenlisting The Inter Milan Ultras on background vocals & Outtatown behind the boards cautioning not to fuck with them because they’re exhausted.
After the “Isabella” skit, “Promotion” featuring Future works in organs & hi-hats to talk about heartless lovemaking that is until “Husband” solely produced by Ye kinda throws it back to the 808s & Heartbreak era minus the auto-tune saying that family heals. “Lifestyle” featuring Lil Wayne samples “LOVE IS GONE” by Nico Baran of Internet Money Records talking about their significant others wanting to live the lifestyles they do just before James Blake provides “Forever” a predominantly more atmospheric & melodic tone overall singing about the possibility of hoping they can last forever with Ye unfortunately using AI again.
“Bomb” featuring Ye’s daughters Chicago & North West alongside Yuno Miles gives off a Jersey Club rap vibe to boast including a Japanese portion interestingly enough leading into “River” featuring Young Thug & it’s entrancingly spirit-lifting trap beat from Pi’erre Bourne & Digital Nas tackling false ideologies in the rap scene calling for Thug to come home. My favorite song here “5:30 / Dear Summer” assisted by E*vax feels like a legitimate College Dropout throwback other than the lazy AI ending, but then “Dead” featuring Future & Lil Durk hops over an intoxicating instrumental from ATL Jacob talking about how they can’t be playing with these diamonds & money.
Lil Baby appears on “Forever Rollin’” bringing a ghostly trap flare to the table addressing loyalty while the guitar-driven “Sky City” featuring CyHi the Prynce with BoogzDaBeast & Timbaland on co-production gets unearthed from the Yandhi sessions except it’s ruined by AI again. “My Soul” featuring Big Sean on the remix ends Vultures 2 letting Boogz, DJ Camper, FNZ, 30 Roc & YZY SND Head of Music 88-Keys blending gospel & hip hop in the vein of DONDA so ¥$ can pay tribute to the 4,000+ prisoners in California being used to put out the wildfires that have been ravaging the state for the last 3 decades additionally dissing Adidas.
“Take Off Your Dress” starts the deluxe run sampling “Please Make It Good Again” by Talmadge Armstrong likening their partners to supermodels while “Gun to My Head” featuring KiD CuDi reunites KIDS SEE GHOSTS sampling “Blindside” by Alice Merton talking about not being too hard to find. JPEGMAFIA fresh off his superiorly better new album I Lay Down My Life for You & BoogzDaBeast flip “Super Sharp Shooter” by the Ganja Kru for “Believer” clarifying that Christians don’t like to admit that they like to sin & the hip house flavored “Drunk” by Bad Bunny, Kodak Black & Peso Pluma talks about being fucked up. “Can U Be” featuring Travis Scott ends the bonus track run with a hip house Havoc beat asking if one is afraid.
The sequel to Vultures finds ¥$ taking themselves below the predecessor as a whole listening experience although the sound compared to the debut goes from pop rap to hip house, alternative R&B, experimental hip hop, rage, Jersey Club rap, the chipmunk soul sound Ye helped pioneer, trap, gospel music & rap rock pretty much mixing old & new sounds together. I don’t like the use of AI in music because I feel like the way that Ye utilizes it as lazy compared to The D.O.C. & Beanie Sigel both saying they’re working on new albums using AI on their voices. It’s about how you use that technology & he doesn’t use it to elevate himself musically.
Score: 1.5/5
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