VULTURES 2 will go down as the worst Kanye West album. It was an absolute mess in terms of its rollout. The album went over its scheduled release date by months. When it did finally arrive, the mixes were an absolute mess. Kanye West corrected them in real time. He also tweaked the tracklist, and added songs once the extremely negative feedback came rolling in. "530" is a rare bright spot on the album, though. Kanye West gets personal and delivers one of his best lyrical performances in ages over a smooth vocal chop. And now we have a music video for it.
One might assume a track as heartfelt as "530" would get a heartfelt video. Kanye West has given fans some of the most iconic and memorable hip hop visuals of the 21st century. It would stand to reason that he could whip something up for the new single that was tonally appropriate. Well, West did what he does best, and defied expectations. The music video for "530" doesn't feature Kanye West or his VULTURES collaborator, Ty Dolla $ign. It doesn't feature any human beings, actually. Instead, the video is centered around puppets and people wearing cartoon masks.
The video doesn't follow a straightforward narrative. It strings together a bunch of low quality videos of these puppets and masked people seemingly doing random activities. One scenario sees a man walking the street with a bag in hand. Another sees a female puppet get an injection into her nose. There's a very unnerving quality to the visuals here, like a Twilight Zone episode conceived by, well, Kanye West. It's a bold visual direction to take things. Lyrically, "530" is about the rapper's ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. It also touches on the way Kardashian is raising their children, and the fears West has about their futures.
The most interesting aspect of "530," barring the striking visuals, is that it received a music video this long after VULTURES 2 was released. Kanye West has not done promo for the album, and everything we have heard from him has seemingly been in preparation for his next solo release, BULLY. The rapper had seemed as though he closed the chapter on VULTURES. Now, we don't really know what to think.
NEW RELEASES
Kevin Abstract, like his stage name suggests, is back with another creative record. "GEEZER" is the name, and it sports a feature from singer, rapper, and actor, Dominic Fike. This now makes this their second ever collaboration, with the first being 2019's "Peach" from Kevin's ARIZONA BABY.
This track is also kind of special as it serves as the lead single for the former BROCKHAMPTON member's next solo LP, Blush. Per Hypebeast, fans should expect it to drop on June 27. Per Genius, its shaping up to be a stacked project too with potential features from JPEGMAFIA, The Kid LAROI, Danny Brown, Quadeca, and more.
Of course, this will be Kevin Abstract's fourth solo LP with American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story, ARIZONA BABY, and 2023's Blanket being the predecessors.
On "GEEZER," him and Fike have some great chemistry over this indie instrumental, which shouldn't be a surprise. The duo has some great humor about them too. They cheekily rap about being afraid of not chasing their dreams.
The parent element goes a long way in urging listeners to not feel like you are bound to one path in life. "I said, "Damn, back then you used to be my right hand" / What happened? / She said, "Dad, you got old and then you ruined my plans," Fike raps.
Check out the track below.
Quotable Lyrics:
She ain't get accepted where the teacher recommended (Uh-oh)
She still makin' coffee at the age of thirty-seven (Uh-oh)
I know it's a small town, but the mall now looks small now
I guess the lesson is never let your guard down
Banks put up the buildings and your parents build the fences
Please don't stay behind them in your mid-twenties
