Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign, also known as ¥$, recently began their first string of Vultures 2 album listening parties in cities such as Phoenix, Arizona, and San Francisco, California. During the listening events, fans discovered a few surprising things about the album-making process, along with what the final product might sound like. Ye had previously announced plans to drop Vultures 2 on March 8, but like many recent Kanye projects, this date came and went without an album on DSPs. Likewise, fans anticipate the upcoming Vultures 3 project to miss the projected release window of April 5, as the album likely hasn't even begun production yet.

Still, attendees of the March 10 listening party in Phoenix received the first glimpse into the Vultures sequel. With Ye & Ty Dolla $ign's upcoming Rolling Loud California performance on March 14th, we're breaking down what we know so far about Vultures 2.

Though many fans assumed the listening experience on March 10 would center around new material, Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign spent the majority of the show showcasing the tracklist of the first Vultures album. This included multiple rousing performances of the hit song "Carnival," with Ye and Ty each leaping into the crowd as the song blasted over the stadium speakers at the Footprint Center. Kanye donned a Jason Vorhees-style hockey mask for a majority of the show, though he did remove the face covering during performances of certain tracks, such as the Vultures 1 closer "King."

The performance featured songs originally intended for Vultures 1 that hadn't received clearance for streaming, including "Good (Don't Die)" and "Everybody," which heavily relied on an uncleared sample from the Backstreet Boys. If the samples receive clearance for release, the duo could potentially include iterations of these tracks on Vultures 2. Additionally, the duo have continued to perform the original streaming versions of certain tracks like "F*** Sumn," rather than the new-and-improved editions crafted by JPEGMAFIA, which the latter artist has played at recent solo shows.

Unlike previous listening parties hosted by Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign in the past, the March 10 outing featured no famous rapper guests such as Freddie Gibbs, Playboi Carti, or Kodak Black. Instead, Ye and Ty were joined by three of Kanye's four children, North, Chicago, and Psalm. During the performance of "Talking," North took center stage to perform her feature, as her younger siblings danced vibrantly close by. Between tracks, North West took to the microphone to announce plans to release an album of her own, titled Elementary School Dropout, a play on her father's debut album. While very little information is available about North's upcoming music at this time, the announcement was enough to send fans into a frenzy at the live event.

Once the entirety of the Vultures 1 tracklist had been performed, Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign each raised two fingers to signify the start of Vultures 2 at the first listening party. They then proceeded to play several never-before-heard songs. While these tracks undoubtedly left a lasting impact on attendees, it quickly became evident that the album is still unfinished, as the duo only unveiled a small handful of songs from the upcoming sequel. Additionally, most of the Vultures 2 songs shared at the show lacked completed Kanye vocals, signaling that the project is still heavily under construction.

Despite the unfinished nature of Vultures 2, there were plenty of elements from the new tracks that had fans glowing with excitement. The songs featured vocal passages from the likes of Future, Playboi Carti, 070 Shake, and Project Pat. Fans have estimated that the previewed Vultures 2 tracks will have titles such as "Poppin'," "Promotion," "Field Trip," and "Slide" based on the songs' lyrical content.

Hours before the March 10 listening experience, Kanye West expressed interest in releasing Vultures 2 as a purchase-only album available for $20 through his website. These comments came in response to James Blake's recent claim that streaming services exploit artists and devalue the artistic merit of music. The "Father Stretch My Hands" rapper made several social media posts deliberating on how to go about releasing Vultures 2, leaving some fans to fear they may never hear the finished project.

This mirrors Kanye's previous release of Donda 2, which he never officially completed and uploaded to streamers like Spotify or Apple Music. Instead, drafts of Donda 2 songs were available only to those who purchased the Stem Player. For now, there's no way of knowing if Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign will stick with this niche release method or not. As the duo continues touring their new tracks around the country, more information will surely be revealed to the public.

About The Author

TeeJay Small is a professional humorist, pop culture columnist, and an avid enjoyer of all things hip hop. When he's not compiling dozens of monologue-style jokes about the most absurd news headlines, or furiously scribbling rewrites for his television pilot, you can find him carefully analyzing the lyrics to the latest Griselda or Dreamville releases, or digging in the crates to find the hottest up-and-coming rappers. After receiving his bachelor's degree in English/Communications from UMASS Boston, TeeJay set out on a journey to travel the world and develop a culturally diverse media career. He has been personally assured by both members of EARTHGANG that he is, in fact, part of the culture.

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