Joe Budden has admitted he has mixed feelings about Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign‘s Vultures 1.
While reviewing the album on his self-titled podcast, the former rapper and media personality said he’s mostly a fan of the collaborative project but has a few gripes — and they lie with Kanye himself.
“This is some bad rapping on here. I’m only talking about Kanye West,” he said. “Freddie Gibbs went crazy. All the rappers I heard went crazy, except for Kanye West … He’s just chanting.”
Budden also said some of the songs on the album are “a little too funky” and “too Yeezus-ish” for his liking, but praised the overall production quality of Vultures 1.
“He showed his ass on the production. His production is unbelievable on here,” he said. “‘Carnival’ on down is nuts.”
Budden picked out the YG-assisted, Juvenile-sampling “Do It” as a personal favorite, joking: “I’m still a little thot inside. Dawg, what a creative flip of ‘Back That Azz Up.’ I need to hear this in the strip club loud.”
He also praised the Chris Brown collaboration “Beg Forgiveness”: “I absolutely love this. I don’t care that this beat stays the same. This is crazy.”
Though the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Vultures 1 has encountered a number of issues since its release on February 10.
The track “Good (Don’t Die)” was removed from streaming services after being accused of sampling Donna Summer without authorization.
The song’s hook interpolated lyrics from the late singer’s 1977 disco hit “I Feel Love.” In a statement posted on social media, Summer’s estate claimed Kanye sampled the song despite being denied permission.
“Kanye West asked permission to use Donna Summer song, ‘I Feel Love,’ [but] he was denied,” the post read. “He changed the words, had someone re-sing it, or used AI but it’s ‘I Feel Love’…copyright infringement!”
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The entire album was also temporarily removed from Apple Music after a complaint was raised by its distributor.
Vultures 1 was initially distributed by FUGA but the company said in a statement just days after its release that “a long-standing FUGA client delivered the album Vultures 1 through the platform’s automated processes, violating our service agreement.”
The album was then pulled from streaming before a new distribution agreement was reached with Label Engine, who had also managed the release of the singles “Vultures” and “Talking/Once Again.”
After the drama, West posted a message on Instagram to his followers saying: “With all the DSP’s taking the album down go to Yeezy.com to buy the album : ))).”
