Kanye West's new album release updates, tracklist, and everything we know so far

Kanye West loves to take his time. The rapper has released a dozen albums since his game-changing debut in 2004, and every single one of them has been subject to last-minute changes and delays. His latest album is no different.

Vultures, the anticipated collaboration between West and Ty Dolla $ign, has been teased throughout most of 2023, but details regarding the album have been so sporadic that it’s been tough to determine what’s legitimate and what’s online speculation.

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That being said, it seems like Vultures is in the home stretch. Ty Dolla $ign recently posted a tracklist on Instagram, and various outlets have reported that a release date is close (well, as much as one can describe a West release date as "close").

There’s a lot to keep track of, so we thought it’d be helpful to assemble all of the information we have on the new album so that you know what to expect.

What is the release date for Kanye West’s new album?

Talk about false starts. Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign were going to preview Vultures during a listening event in Italy on October 20, but the event was pushed back a week, to October 27. Then, it was canceled.

The duo attempted a second listening event in Saudi Arabia on November 3, with Billboard confirming that the album was set to be released the same day. Once again, the event (and the album drop) was canceled.

The Independent then reported that West confirmed the title and the date to the audience: “It’s called Vultures and it’s coming out Friday.” The Friday in question was December 15, but the date came and went with no new music. Now, the rumored release date is January 12.

Does Kanye West’s new album have an official tracklist?

Ty Dolla $ign lent credibility to the album's impending release when he posted the tracklist for Vultures on Instagram. The tracklist has 18 songs, many of which have leaked online in different forms and date back several years.

“New Body” is probably the best example, as the song was originally set to appear on West’s abandoned 2019 album Yandhi. The song may end up being scrapped, however, for reasons we'll discuss a little bit later.

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Other songs on the tracklist, including “Paid” and “Time Moving Slow”, have been uploaded to YouTube as low quality recordings. West has become one of the most consistently bootlegged artists in all of hip-hop, but there’s usually a significant change between the leaked version of a song and the version that makes it onto the album.

West also previewed a song that features a prominent sample of the Backstreet Boys hit "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)". You can hear the snippet in the Instagram video below.

Who are the featured artists on Kanye West’s new album?

Kanye West loves to collaborate, as evidenced by his track record and the fact that Vultures is literally a collab album. Beyond the involvement of Ty Dolla $ign, however, there are tons of A-list artists who are slated to contribute vocals and/or a guest verse.

The names who are confirmed include Bump J and Lil Durk. The first two appear on the song “Vultures”. Nicki Minaj was set to appear on the song "New Body", but the rapper has allegedly refused to clear her vocals for West, leading to a public falling out on social media.

There are other artists who were identified when West and Ty Dolla $ign previewed the album. Miami Herald confirmed that Chris Brown, Future, and Young Thug appeared on different songs, which makes sense given that Future appears on the leaked version of the aforementioned “Paid”, and Thugger popped up on an early version of “River.”

That being said, West cuts lots of different versions of songs, so the ones that were played in front of a Miami audience may not be the ones that wind up on the official release.

What are the singles from Kanye West’s new album?

So far, there has only been one official single from Vultures. The title? You guessed it: “Vultures.” The single was released on November 22, 2023, and represented the first release by West since he made a series of anti-Semitic remarks on public forums. 

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The rapper actually addresses the controversy in the lyrics for “Vultures”, though the crass manner in which he did it led to many dismissing the single outright. The lyrics in question:

""How I'm anti-Semitic? I just f**ked a Jewish b***h.""

“Vultures” failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and drew mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. 

Will Kanye West’s new album get delayed again?

The question on everybody’s mind. West has already delayed Vultures a handful of times, and he clearly has no problem shelving albums that he’s spent years working on, as evidenced by the fate of the unreleased Yandhi. 

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That being said, January 12 has a lot more evidence to support it than the previous Vultures dates. There’s also the fact that Ty Dolla $ign, an artist who’s generally pretty good about releasing albums on time, is the other person involved with the rollout. 

Will Vultures get delayed again? It’s possible, but given all the momentum that’s accumulated over the past couple weeks, we hope to get it soon.