All that you missed about Kanye West and 'Vultures'

After months of anticipation, the first volume of Vultures is finally available on all streaming platforms, including Spotify, albeit with a few hours delay compared to Apple Music and Tidal. Spoilers and various leaks had already hinted since October, but even during the listening party held in November, which artists would accompany Ye on the album's tracklist. Additionally, tracks like BACK TO ME and FUK SUMN, included in the first volume of Vultures, had already been released in their original versions on YouTube and Soundcloud. However, the curiosity to discover the samples and sounds inserted by Kanye in the other tracks of the album was sky-high. As we await the next two volumes of the musical project created in collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign, let's find out everything that happened in the hours before and after the release of the most anticipated album of the year.

The Sampling of I Feel Love by Donna Summer

As usual, Kanye has made sampling one of his winning weapons to impress his audience of listeners. The new track Good (Don't Die) contains a sample of one of Donna Summer's most iconic songs, I Feel Love, which according to Billboard, was allegedly used by Kanye West without permission. A story posted on Instagram by Donna Summer's fan account stated: "Kanye West asked for permission to use Donna Summer's song 'I Feel Love,' but was denied. He changed the words of the song, had someone else sing it, or used artificial intelligence. This is a copyright violation!" The controversy raised by the fan account adds to that disclosed by Ozzy Osbourne: the former frontman of Black Sabbath has clearly expressed, on his social profiles, that he is in no way associated with Ye's image, after the Chicago rapper used, within one of the best tracks of Vultures, CARNIVAL, the guitar riff of Iron Man.

The Vultures Merchandise on Sale for Less Than €20

While tickets for the upcoming Vultures listening parties are available at exorbitant prices, Kanye West has decided to sell album merchandise at a ridiculously low price: long-sleeve shirts, t-shirts, sweatpants, and YZY PODS are available on the YEEZY website for €18.95. Among the items is also the WET tank top created with Mowalola, and it really seems like Kanye, for the first time, wants to succeed in the complicated mission of making clothing democratic. For the past five years, he has never really succeeded, but it is indeed difficult to resist purchasing an item of Vultures merchandise for less than €20.

The Hockey Mask Worn by Kanye

The SuperBowl has just ended, and Kanye West witnessed Kansas City's victory wearing a black mask adorned with a white crucifix: this is an accessory presented in a 1996 fashion show by Alexander McQueen in the Dante collection. Once again, the rapper appeared in public with his face covered, just as he did during the Vultures listening party held on February 8th at the United Center in Chicago. On that occasion, Kanye paired a hockey mask with leather pants and a bomber, a clear reference to Jason Vorhees, the protagonist of the Friday the 13th saga. Suddenly, actor Kane Hodder intervened, ironically stating that the mask worn by Kanye was not up to the character of the saga: "Kanye, let me give you a better mask. The one you're wearing isn't great." The hockey mask, which Kanye had also worn on the cover of the first volume of Vultures, had been worn by the rapper even on stage to perform Runaway in Orlando alongside Travis Scott a few days earlier. However, the cover was subsequently modified after the album's release: in the new version, Ye is depicted with his face completely obscured.

If there have been so many twists, curiosities, and amusing anecdotes for the first volume of Vultures, we expect just as many for the next two volumes that will complete Kanye West's first trilogy, assuming they actually debut.