“Vultures 1” was well worth the wait.

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TOP 5

5. DO IT (Ft. YG)

This might end up being the biggest club banger on this album.

I hesitated to put “Do It” on this list, mainly because I’ve heard songs like this before. However, after the left side of my brain, which likes booty clubs and hard liquor, spoke with the right side of my brain, which likes infectious melodies and Dateline, I’m happy to report we came to an agreement that this s**t belongs.

In all seriousness, “Do It” is a good listen. It has a dope Nipsey Hussle opening, Ty Dolla $ign’s most impactful contributions on the album, a strip club-inspired beat with an excellent tempo, an unapologetic, brash, ‘it ain’t trickin’ if you got it’ type verse by Kanye West, an extremely ratchet verse by YG, and one of the most random but perfect beat switches to “Back That Ass Up.” What else can you ask for?

4. BURN

“Burn” is the most regular-sounding track on this album.

In “Burn,” you get a traditional setup: A chorus by an R&B singer and a rap verse by someone who actually sounds like a rapper, not like a rapper who wants to sound like a singer. I think the chorus, which I guess I have to confirm is sung by Ty Dolla $ign, is absolutely beautiful. It boasts a highly infectious melody and has a couple of faces. I think Kanye’s one verse is excellent, too. I love the flow he raps with, his messy lyrics (that Balenciaga shot was filthy), and how cocky he sounds as a whole (Cocky Kanye is the best *Pause*). Overall, “Burn” is just a perfect track.

“Burn” is just too short to put as number one on this list.

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3. BACK TO ME (Ft. Freddie Gibbs)

Goddammit, why did Kanye semi-waste this perfect beat like this? I’m actually really angry.

Can we replace Kanye West’s raps in this song with some J. Cole raps, please? S**t, you can even put airline instructions over the beat. I’m trying to hear anything but Kanye’s raps! I knew he wouldn’t take s**t seriously after he dropped that weak-ass Urkel line. Did Ye realize how epic the beat was during the making of this song? Did he realize that Freddie Gibbs rapped like the rent for his forefathers and foremothers was due? Did he realize that Ty Dolla $ign’s hook was flawless? DID HE REALIZE HOW F**KING EPIC THIS BEAT WAS!? Jesus, Kanye! This could’ve been one of your best songs in ten years!

OK, Kanye’s part isn’t that bad. I just wanted him to really go in.

2. CARNIVAL (Ft. Rich The Kid & Playboi Carti)

Kanye West did the impossible: He made Rich The Kid sound amazing on a track (I love Rich (I really do), but let’s be honest: He isn’t always the most colorful crayon in the crayon box when it comes to songs).

Is “Carnival” the most quality song on Vultures 1? Maybe, maybe not. What I can tell you is that it will get you hyped as hell and will probably end up being one of the most streamed songs on the album. Think about all the s**t it has: Edgy, action hero-like production, an amped-up, quality Rich The Kid hook and verse, a fiery Kanye West verse, a slick-ass Ty Dolla $ign verse, and a nerdy-sounding Playboi Carti (I feel like we need to appreciate the nerdy version of Playboi Carti every chance we get). Oh yeah, and we also get a quick little sampler of the beat from the underrated “Hell Of A Life” track from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I’ma happy customer, guys!

1. FUK SUMN (Ft. Playboi Carti & Travis Scott)

There are so many unorthodox hip-hop sounds in “Fuk Sumn.”

“Fuk Sumn” is one of the most enjoyable mind f**ks I’ve ever had. Do you know what wasn’t an enjoyable mind f**k for me? That stupid-ass Tenet movie with Denzel Washington’s son. Anywho, in “Fuk Sumn,” you get some beat switches, old-school Houston hip-hop elements, an incredibly catchy hook by Ty Dolla $ign, one of Playboi Carti’s most straightforward and consistent verses, a mighty, King Kong-like verse from Kanye, and one of the strangest finishing touches by Travis Scott. This song reminds me of a Thanksgiving plate at a black household: A bunch of scraps that turned into something legendary.

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SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. STARS (4.5/5)

2. KEYS TO MY LIFE (4.5/5)

3. PAID (4/5)

4. TALKING (4/5)

5. BACK TO ME (Ft. Freddie Gibbs) (4.5/5)

6. HOODRAT (4/5)

7. DO IT (Ft. YG) (4.5/5)

8. PAPERWORK (4/5)

9. BURN (5/5)

10. FUK SUMN (Ft. Playboi Carti & Travis Scott) (5/5)

11. VULTURES (Ft. Bump J & Lil Durk) (4/5)

12. CARNIVAL (Ft. Rich The Kid & Playboi Carti) (4.5/5)

13. BEG FORGIVENESS (4/5)

14. GOOD (DON’T DIE) (4.5/5)

15. PROBLEMATIC (4.5/5)

16. KING (4/5)

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OVERALL RATING

(B+)

Kanye West might be a little crazy, but the dude is a musical genius also. If you keep forgetting that, stop doing that immediately! Vultures 1 is a great body of work. I hope we get not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 Vultures (In my LeBron James voice).

There are so many different shades of Kanye West, right? We’ve gotten autotune Kanye, Christian Kanye, commercial Kanye, and artistic Kanye throughout the years. In Vultures 1, we get Trenches Kanye! In the album, his raps sound raw, trill, unapologetic, and hard as f**k. He really goes in, proving that despite his bizarre clothing and strange lifestyle moves, he’s still as relatable to your average douchebag on Twitter as he’s ever been. I will say this: If Kanye gave us better verses, I think this album could’ve been a classic.

Ty Dolla $ign doesn’t have that many shades, and that’s completely OK. Though Vultures 1 is labeled as Kanye West and Ty Dolla’s album, let’s be honest: This is Kanye’s album featuring Ty Dolla $ign. Here’s the thing, though: I believe Ty’s at his best when he plays a complementary role. That said, throughout this album, I f**k with the way his soulful vocals complement Kanye’s fiery, edgy raps and the dynamic, hard-hitting, multi-layered beats. I also enjoy the pockets where Ty brings out his punchy raps (Like he does in “Carnival”), reminding us of the times when we were shocked that R&B singers could talk s**t just as much as rappers do. I do want to state this, though: Ty definitely appears on the album just as much as Kanye, so he wasn’t bamboozled. I just think what he was asked to do wasn’t as bold as what Kanye was asked to do.

The production we get on this album is outstanding. Most of the beats on Vultures 1 hit harder than Jay-Z’s Grammy speech, are soulful and complex, have significant build-ups, and pull you in with their different forms of energy. Though I don’t think they are as good as the beats we get in My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, they are in that class for me.

Can I be frank with you? Ok, here I go: I didn’t give a single s**t about the features we got on this album. However, everyone put up pretty impactful performances. Notably, Lil Durk made “Vultures” better (Remember, the original track didn’t have him), Rich The Kid put up his best performance ever in “Carnival,” Playboi Carti was solid in “Fuk Sumn,” and Freddie Gibbs put up the verse of his life in “Back To Me.” But I want to reiterate this: If there is a version of this album with no features, I wouldn’t know the difference (Why do I keep thinking of that hilarious meme where that black guy only adds a toothpick to his picture to claim he got cuter).

Do you know what I love about Kanye’s albums? They usually evoke so many different emotions out of you. That said, Vultures 1 is gritty, funny, choppy, strange, and authentically hip-hop. Oh yeah, and most importantly, it’s good.

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