Here's a Complete History of Kanye West Delaying The ‘Vultures' Trilogy

As midnight rolled around on Friday, May 3, fans of Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign eagerly awaited VULTURE$ 2, the follow up to the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit, VULTURE$. But when the clock struck 12, nothing happened. As Friday afternoon arrives, there is still no VULTURE$ 2 to be found.

VULTURE$ 2 was initially expected to release on March 8, one month after VULTURE$. That date passed and no album was in sight.

However, in March, a Baby Keem fanpage discovered the updated drop date of May 3, after West mistook the account for the actual rapper Baby Keem, and spilled the beans on a new target for release.

"We in the lab with it," wrote West of the album. He continued, saying that VULTURE$ 2 was "Gonna release in May. May 3." He then asked the account -- still apparently believing it to be Keem -- when they could "go in" and record music together.

On March 8, X user @yefanatics showed what appear to be Instagram DMs between the fanpage and West, in which West also shut down rumors about a solo project called Ye 3 before declaring himself "the greatest artist in any genre ever and I'm just getting started."

In a now deleted post, West posted the cover art of VULTURE$ 2 in March. The artwork remains on Ty Dolla $ign's account. West has since deleted his social media accounts, leaving no hints as to whether the album would release on time.

On May 1, creative director Aus Taylor posted that the album was "en route," but did not specify on what date the album would release. The cover is nearly the same as VULTURE$, showing West in the same all-black outfit as the original album. The rapper holds a photo of Ty Dolla $ign's brother, Big TC.

This rocky rollout is reminiscent of the original VULTURE$, which was delayed until February after it was slated to release in December 2023. VULTURE$ 3 was intended to release on April 5, which has also gone by with no indication that that album is ready for the public's ears.

West is also considering not putting the record on streaming services,

"How do you feel about us not streaming and only selling the album digitally" said West in a DM to @yefanatics.

The rapper explained that he knows "it's possible" to have financial success if fans must purchase the album rather than stream it on their current platforms.

"I got 20 million instagram followers. When 5% of my followers buy an album.. That's 1 million albums sold. That's 300k more than the biggest album last year.. We sold 1 million items on Yeezy.com on Super Bowl Sunday so we know it's possible," he wrote.

Will VULTURE$ 2 drop before the end of May 3, or is another delay imminent? Only West seems to know.

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Kanye West