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10 Songs From Kanye's 'Vultures' Livestream: Listen Now

10 Songs From Kanye's 'Vultures' Livestream: Listen Now

Plus, Young Thug's RICO trial is postponed until 2024.

All signs point to a new Kanye album before the end of 2023. Playboi Carti and Frank Ocean, your move next. In other news today:

The Billboard Hot 100 📈
10 songs previewed at Kanye’s ‘Vultures Rave’ 🔥
Why Young Thug’s trial was postponed until 2024
Discover new music with The Rap Index 🎵
Industry Insights 🔎

Billboard’s Hot 100

According to Billboard’s Hot 100 for the week of Dec 16

The above chart shows Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking for this week. The Hot 100 ranks songs based on streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales data—all measured by Luminate.

Jack Harlow and Doja Cat managed to stay in the Top 10 despite Christmas songs dominating the chart. “Loving On Me” dropped from #3 to #5 this week, and “Paint The Town Red” declined by two spots to #10.

10 Songs & Everything Else You Missed at Kanye’s ‘Vultures Rave’

Kanye SZN is here (allegedly). The tracklist for his collab album, Vultures, with Ty Dolla $ign, was released last week and given a release date of Dec 15th. Kanye’s rollouts are typically concluded by a last supper-style listening event featuring the album's collaborators, and the Vultures Rave in Miami didn’t disappoint. Here’s everything you need to know about the album.

With a start time of midnight, attendees and livestream viewers at home got to feel like clowns for over two hours until Kanye and Ty Dolla finally took the stage. About ten songs from the album were previewed, confirming which collaborators were on certain songs—a detail missing from the tracklist.

The 10 songs previewed

Chris Brown, Kodak Black, Lil Durk, Bump J, Offset, and Freddie Gibbs took the stage alongside Kanye and Ty Dolla. Freddie Gibbs was rapping like the rent was due on the track “Back To Me,” and “River” paid homage to Young Truly Humbled Under God, proving that even behind bars, he still has some fire in the vault.

Fans may recognize “New Body,” from 2018, when it was initially intended for Kanye’s Yandhi album, which got shelved. Playboi Carti didn’t make it in time for the rave but was pictured with Kanye afterward, and he has a feature on the song “Fuk Sumn.”

Lil Baby’s verse on “Everybody” was already previewed on social media, but fans got to hear the whole song, which serves as the album’s opener. The track interpolates Backstreet Boys’ 1997 song of the same name, with Charlie Wilson recreating the original chorus. Listen to all 10 tracks via the links below.

Vultures by Kanye & Ty Dolla $ign

North West makes her rap debut

“Adonis has 24 hours to respond” is the running joke after North West made her official rap debut on the song “Slide” with James Blake. “It’s your bestie, miss miss Westie,” North rapped beside a beaming Kanye. Her feature is more proof she’s the reincarnation of her father, following a Kanye-esque cover story where she named herself her style icon. North the type of daughter to caption a pic of her and Kanye, “me and a fan.”

“Adonis, imma let you finish, but North West just had the best deb,” said another X user. Adonis’ “My Man Freestyle” earned 155K first-day steams on Spotify. We’ll see how North’s debut numbers compare.

North West’s verse on Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign’s collab album ‘Vultures’ 😭🔥
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast)
Dec 12, 2023

Artwork, Tracklist, and Features

Ty Dolla $ign posted the album’s hand-written 18-song tracklist, and Playboi Carti previewed the cover art on his IG stories. The Vultures' artwork is a reworking of 19th-century painter Caspar David’s Landscape with Graves.

The morbid image shows a bird perched on a shovel at a gravesite. The shovel is used to dig up dirt to cover coffins. The official pre-save for the album is available on Apple Music—a sign of hope that it’ll actually release on Friday.

Confirmed Vultures features:

Playboi Carti
Young Thug
Freddie Gibbs
Future
Offset
Quavo
Nicki Minaj
Lil Baby
Chris Brown
Lil Durk
Kodak Black
James Blake
North West
Charlie Wilson
Bump J

Which ‘Vultures’ feature are you most excited for?

Click an option below to weigh in

Why Young Thug’s Trial Was Postponed Until 2024

Trial goes smoothly for a week challenge is something the YSL RICO trial would fail miserably at. The latest delay is due to a co-defendant of Young Thug’s being stabbed in jail. Soon after court began on Monday, Judge Glanville announced that they were done for the day, announcing a “medical issue” with one of the participants.

On Tuesday, Judge Glanville told the jury that a medical issues still exists and the trial is being delayed until Jan 2. Shannon Stillwell was stabbed by inmate Willie Brown over the weekend and remains alive but is reportedly hospitalized. This is the second time he’s been stabbed in jail, the first happening in July 2022.

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office says Stillwell was stabbed by inmate Willie Brown, who’s been in jail without bond for almost 3 1/2 years.
Here’s the press release and Brown’s mugshot.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff)
Dec 12, 2023

Stillwell is among six defendants who pled not guilty and are standing trial in Atlanta. One of his charges is for the murder of Donovan Thomas, a rival gang member who was shot in 2015. Prosecutors accuse Thug of renting the car that YSL members used to carry out the hit. This is a central part of the prosecution’s case, and you’ll likely see both sides get heated over the subject if the trial ever makes it that far.

What does “Stabbed” stand for?