Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign have absolutely been through the wringer this year given the chaotic rollout of VULTURES 1 and the absence of its promised sequel project. However, it turns out that there's still another chapter in the bizarre VULTURES saga, as the album is no longer available on Spotify. You can still listen to some singles like "CARNIVAL" and "TALKING," but the LP as a whole disappeared for unexplained reasons at press time. We don't know if this has to do with its distribution deal, sample clearance issues, or Ye and Ty's plans to only stream their material via the YZY app.
This was already the planned release method for VULTURES 2, so we don't know if this VULTURES 1 removal means that Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign's next collaboration is in jeopardy. Still, it's possible that the album will just reappear on Spotify in due time, as had already happened when the album dropped in the first place. As for other streaming services, it seems like Apple Music still has it up, so that suggests this is more of a distribution issue with Spotify in particular. Still, that's just speculative, and there's a big chance that we will never find out for sure.
VULTURES 1 Is No Longer On Spotify
Also, this is curious because Kanye West seemingly announced that VULTURES 1 would be his last album, since he claimed to retire from music recently. Nevertheless, as with all things Ye, this didn't really last long, as Rich The Kid announced that he would have a new feature on his new album Life's A Gamble. Maybe this is just a promo stunt or another plea for attention, but it's easy to presume that the Chicago artist just doesn't have the same relationship to music that he used to. It was only a matter of time, and we'll see how true his words are.
Meanwhile, perhaps this VULTURES 1 removal will have an impact on the duo's planned Korea listening event for VULTURES. Whether or not Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign shelve their collaborative series, that wouldn't close the door on new Ye music for the rest of time to begin with. So maybe we'll see the album back on Spotify tomorrow morning... or users on the platform will never bump "BURN" again. It's all a mystery in Ye's world right now, and maybe a break is more reasonable than outright abandonment.