Vultures 1 arrives, as it seems all Kanye West albums now must, late and mired and in yet more controversy, the latter now a smouldering heap of self-inflicted ill-feeling that left West without a record label, an estimated $1.5bn poorer after Adidas cut ties with him and, according to a now-deleted post on Instagram, unable to book a tour because venues have blacklisted him, all due to antisemitic comments.
Indeed, this time around, the controversy and the lateness appear to go hand in hand. Vultures’ supporting cast list underlines that there are still plenty of big names happy to be associated with him – from Playboi Carti and Travis Scott to producers Timbaland and James Blake – but at least part of the album’s failure to appear on any of the scheduled release dates seems to be linked to other artists’ refusal to give clearance for guest appearances and samples. If Nicki Minaj’s disinclination to have her feature track on the album was, she said, down to the fact that it was “three years old”, there was little doubt as to why Ozzy Osbourne wanted out. “[He’s] a disrespectful antisemite,” offered his manager/wife, Sharon. “He fucked with the wrong Jew this time … the motherfucker’s a pig.”
