The Pop Corporation

Having watched the Kanye and Ty Dolla listening party, there were a number of moments worth talking about. And not for the first time, we have an element of separating the art from the artist, because as much of a piece of shit Ye has been lately, regrettably, he can still make a great tune.

However, anyone with a couple of brain cells to rub together and an ounce of critical thinking skills knows that, if you’re going to be someone who courts controversy, then the music better be great.

We’ve seen it a million times before. Ted Nugent wrote songs about assaulting underage girls and is a MAGA nutjob, but his music sucks, so it’s an easy call to make. Michael Jackson had a lot of kids round for sleepovers, but his music is still played on the radio and no-one really wants to have the conversation because that means not being able to listen to ‘Remember The Time’ anymore.

Kanye fans can be a strange breed too. Mostly, they’re a bit annoyed by all this posturing and bad energy, and think back to a time when he was changing the game and making some of the finest records on the planet. There’s a small section who stan him so hard that any criticism of him is met with hysterical shrieking and digging heels in so hard that they’re up to their middles in dirt.

And then, you’ve got the more typical swirl of Yeezy fan, who is either pretending they didn’t really hear about him saying how much he liked Hitler and made Jewish Adidas employees allegedly kiss a portrait of one of history’s greatest monsters, will overlook him courting the obviously racist Donald Trump, threatening Jews with violence, hanging out with literal white nationalists, denying the holocaust, identifying as a Nazi, being anti-abortion, advocating for a Christian state and the removal of Jewish people from positions of power, sticking up for convicted rapist Bill Cosby, wearing white supremacist slogans, and hur hur hur what is he like? That Kanye is a crazy guy, hur hur, or they’re just not arsed and want to listen to the music in a vaccuum.

Given that Ye’s music is so intertwined with his personality, it’s difficult to avoid mentioning all this stuff, even when focusing on just the music. One of the things that has made Kanye so captivating is how unfiltered he can be. He’ll overshare about his relationships and, during the 808s period, about his unending pain after the passing of his mother.

Fast forward to 2023, and we’re now looking at the tag-team collab with Ty Dolla, and it seems like they’re pitching themselves as outlaws, with an assorted cast of people who have been cancelled themselves in their time (not all of them, mind you). Under the name ¥$, you’ve also got Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj, Kodak Black, and Playboi Carti, and we expect you to do your own reading about those. Y’know, for the culture. There’s also Lil Baby, James Blake, Leon Bridges, Offset, Quavo, Charlie Wilson, Young Thug, Future, Bump J, Bad Bunny, and his own daughter North.

It’s a high profile bunch, no mistake about that. And now, we’re potentially hours away from the release of ‘Vultures’, complete with Bundeswehr eagle merch, only with two heads, because y’know, Ty Dolla + Ye. Is it just because Kanye has got into old German sports gear, or is it more flirting with Fascism?

Well, he’s definitely okay with people thinking he might be, because one of the most… shall we say arresting?… images from the listening party was Ye’s appearance in a black hood, akin to those worn by the KKK. Given West’s flirtation with awful things in the past, it’s easy to jump to a conclusion. However, in the interest of frankly unwarranted fairness, not all pointed hoods are made the same. Spanish catholics have long worn black pointed hoods to perform public penance for their sins, known as Capriote. If indeed Kanye is being clever and knowing, then he’s been on stage, making a pariah of himself, and it’s the KKK that basically stole this look from Italian, Spanish and other Catholics indulging in this rite.

Let’s not forget, this is a look he first showed during his ‘Black Skinhead’ period. Back then, however, you felt there was a point to his agitations, as he spat: “Middle America packed in – came to see me in my black skin; Number one question they asking; Fuck every question you asking; If I don’t get ran out by Catholics here come some conservative Baptists.“

Anyway, argue the toss amongst yourselves, because we’re failing at trying to look at just the music. Like we said earlier, if you’re going to distract from the music, then the music better stand up.

Popularity aside, it’s obviously that Ye has been somewhat off-the-boil for a while now. There’s been flashes of inspiration in the musical soup, but he’s not been hitting the highs of the past. Since 2018’s ‘ye’, it’s been a mixed bag. In fact, his best work largely came manning the desk with Pusha T releases.

So now, after a lot of noise and a bunch of LPs that have been accused of West chasing clout and following the trends rather than setting them, we’re on the precipice of a collaborative album that features his daughter rapping “it’s you bestie, Miss Westie” and a Backstreet Boys rework. It’s fine, and all, but it’s not exactly the sound of the future.

But what of the bars? Well, we’ve got a glassy eyed Ye saying “come sue me, MeToo me”, coupled with “everybody waiting for me to say the wrong thing.” What’s so interesting about the last line is that, in all honestly, hip hop fans have been wishing Kanye would shut the fuck up for the best part of a decade and let his music do the talking.

However, this is Kanye 3.0 we’re on now, and we’re listening to him say: “How am I antisemitic? I just fucked a Jewish bitch”, which honestly, if it’d come from the mouth of Ol’ Dirty, we’d probably like it. However, it’s a man who has been amplifying incredibly dangerous voices for the past few years, and he’s just not got the charm. Similarly, if we’d seen ODB getting brief sloppy top on a crap boat in Italy, we’d mix our worry with shouts of joy, because what is he like? Again. This is Yeezy. It’s just sad, annoying, and ultimately, getting really fucking boring now.

Right on cue: “This ain’t Columbine, but we came in with the trenches” making a reference to the trench coats worn by the people who massacred children.

It almost sounds like Kanye has gone from shaping the culture to trying to impress teenage egdelords who try to shock on their headsets while playing Call of Duty or something. Sure, he’s still able to command the news like few others can, and all of this isn’t to say he’s no longer relevant to pop culture. Who else can command a large live audience by largely standing on a stage, without a mic, playing songs off his phone, and looking awkward?

New single ‘Vultures’ is a pretty lazy affair all told, aside from the aforementioned lines. When Ye gets his control desk sizzling, it’s hard to beat, but on this outing, it’s a syrupy affair that, if by a younger artist, wouldn’t have millions of plays already. Real sub-par throwaway mixtape stuff. Of course, Ty Dolla’s voice still sounds great as hell, and during this album, there’s some uptempo numbers that stand out for sure.

‘Paid’ featuring Jodeci sounds like the kind of Kanye that made people stick up for him. ‘Back 2 Me’ which has spots from Freddie Gibbs has some energy to lift the project up and Ty’s bassline on the Nicki featuring ‘New Body’ sounds like a lively joint. And we’re predisposed to like anything that features a Young Thug rap.

Is it fair to expect every new release from Kanye to be a game changer? Absolutely not. Past Kanye has earned his spot as an All-Timer, however, the stupid shit that keeps coming out of his mouth, and the by now tedious controversy courting means that the spotlight on his music means the listener is more critical and demands more.

If this is just about getting more clicks, then obviously, there’s no-one better in the game that Ye, for good or bad. Will ‘Vultures’ be a return to form? From an early listen, three tracks doesn’t an album make, but we’ll have to wait and see if it, by the time it lands, whether we care as much as we used to.

We don’t even want Old Kayne back. That’s a boring take. We want a new Kanye, one that’s giving us less to grind our teeth about. One that we have to worry about less.

Can we just have the music for a while? That’d be nice.