Another year, another Kanye West album to talk about. But unlike his previous release, “Vultures,” many fans of his music agree that his latest release is a step down in quality and focus.
On “Vultures 2,” Ye is extremely open and gives fans an even deeper peek into his emotional state and personal life. While many can respect that (including myself), he doesn’t do it quite well.
But we’re not here to litigate how good the music is, since it’s always such a slippery slope. If you love his music, you’re a Ye fanatic who simply looks past his public shortcomings no matter how bad, discriminatory, or idiotic they are. If you’re critical of his music, you’re someone who is blinded by his actions and will never compliment his work no matter how good it might be.
But I think we can all agree that he and his music are cooked. Here are some reasons why.
Songwriting quality
One thing nobody can argue: Ye’s lyrics have gotten progressively worse, even on albums where the production is top-notch.
People may argue “he’s a producer not a rapper.” That’s not the standard Ye set for himself when he broke into the industry. No, he’s not the wordsmith of a Black Thought, Mos Def, or Lupe Fiasco. But for a long time, his lyrics were witty, entertaining, and fun. Now they’ve become the weakest part of his music and it seems that the only area where he puts in any kind of effort is the production.
Just on “Vultures 2,” he has some of the worst bars of the year. “I’m on vibranium claws, they titanium.” “You was typing crazy, out your mind / This is not a typo, we reply / Now you spilling type O out your side.” “She giving b***jobs and I applied.”
Messy rollouts
This is a recurring theme of ye albums for the last half decade and it’s become a frustration for music fans. Those who argue that it’s irrelevant are people who haven’t been around long enough to remember a time when West’s rollouts were almost as exciting as the music itself.
Leading up to the release of 2010's “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” he would drop songs weekly on what he called “G.O.O.D. Fridays.” He also did this for 2016's “The Life of Pablo.” It was unique to Ye and it was an excellent way for fans to ramp up their excitement.
Nowadays, it’s never clear when the album is going to be released. When a date is given, it rarely ever comes out on said date. He announces impromptu “listening parties” that are difficult for fans to get into. It’s hard to get excited when it seems like Ye does everything in his power to do the opposite.
It’s just not fun to listen to Kanye anymore
This doesn’t just go for his recently released music, this goes for his older releases as well. This isn’t to say that you’re a bad person if you listen, Ye, since he hasn’t done anything nearly as bad or heinous as other controversial musicians (P. Diddy or R. Kelly) that would lead many to judge you’re character.
It’s just that his old music is so disconnected from the person that he is now. Unlike other artists, it’s not because he’s grown or become more mature.
Although Jay-Z doesn’t make music that represents where he was at the beginning of his career, you can see that it’s a sign of his growth and immense success. Same for Kendrick Lamar, he’s more confident in his story and is less worried about how he might be perceived.
Ye on the other hand has turned into a new person. The man who once said “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people,” is now saying he sees “good things about Hitler.”
The man who once rapped, “Donald Trump taking dollars from y’all,” is now doubling down on antisemitic comments he’s made. It’s a frustrating reality to live in that makes it feel like the old Kanye is not even with us anymore.