Kanye Omari West, commonly referred to as “Ye,” is one of the most celebrated rappers of the 21st century. With songs and albums consistently performing at the top of the charts, Ye has solidified himself as one of the best lyricists of all time. While his music has a loyal fanbase, his recent controversies have disrupted the support he once received.
On February 10, Ye dropped the long-awaited album Vultures. Its contents instantly became the most listened-to songs in the world. It seemed Ye had done it again. He had controlled the rap industry with yet another banger. However, not everybody loved Ye’s latest release.
In talks with students of the Princeton Day School community, it became apparent that the messages and overall feeling of Ye’s album were abhorrent. Sophomore Aurav Singhal said, “[The album] hits in sounds, but the lyrics are questionable because of the themes they promote. For those reasons, I will not comment on whether it was a hit or miss.” Singhal further explained that some of the lyrics within the album encouraged anti-Semitism. Ye has a controversial history of making derogatory public statements regarding the Jewish community.
Others shared Singhal’s views on the album. Sophomore Lloyd Jin reviewed, “I feel like there were a couple of hits, but a ton of misses. The album was medium.” Jin felt that the songs in the album were not as captivating as he was expecting.
In an excellent summary of the album, sophomore Armaan Singhal shared, “I thought the album was a miss. It kind of shows Kanye is declining in his music a little. It was less cohesive than his previous ones.”
Overall, the album was taken to be a miss as nobody really enjoyed the songs because of the themes they endorsed.
Ye, if you are reading this, you better step it up.
