Ty Dolla $ign is defending his Vultures 1 collaborator, Ye (formerly known as Kanye West).
The “Or Nah” rapper is the latest Billboard cover star, and he opened up about working with Ye on their recently released joint album. When asked if he feared Vultures wouldn’t perform well due to Ye’s string of controversial behavior, Ty shrugged it off. “Ye is the best artist of this generation, besides me, and I don’t give a f–k about what people were talking about. I know my n—. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met,” he said. “Just with my analysis of how it goes with him, he goes all the way to the top. And something may happen and he’ll say [something people find offensive] — and then people [get] right back, you know. Because this s–t is undeniable.”
Ye has had a long string of controversies over the past few years, making headlines at his Yeezy Paris Fashion Week show in 2022 for wearing a shirt with the phrase “White Lives Matter” on the back, in addition to featuring Black models wearing the shirt. The phrase is one that was adopted by neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, and the rapper faced backlash from both fans and celebrities online.
He also came under fire after a 2022 tweet in which he announced he was going “death con [sic] 3 on Jewish people.” Ye then repeatedly shared antisemitic hate speech, even going so far as to praise Adolf Hitler, a main leader responsible for the systematic murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust. Ye’s controversies have since cost him several lucrative deals, including one with Adidas.
Elsewhere in the interview, Ty discussed the making of Vultures, which arrived after much delay in February 2024. “Japan was hotel rooms, Italy was hotel rooms. Then we got Sting to let us use his [Italian] villa. At first we were just recording in the living room, recording by the pool, setting up recording equipment out there, and then we found out that there’s an actual recording studio there. […] It’s a very expensive album, I will say that. It would make for a crazy documentary.”
The duo are currently gearing up to release the album’s delayed sequel, Vultures 2. “We got all the songs. Basically, it’s just like, ‘How can we get it there? How can we go bigger than the first album?’” Ty said. “Certain people will probably expect you to just do the same exact sound, but that sound’s already out.”
Read the full cover story here.
