Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign‘s Vultures 1 has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
According to Billboard, the collaborative album earned 148,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, with 129,000 of that figure coming from streaming units (167.78 million on-demand streams in total), 18,000 from pure album sales and 1,000 from TEA (track equivalent album) units.
AD LOADING...
Kanye is now level with Bruce Springsteen and Barbra Streisand with 11 No. 1 albums to his name, with only Drake and Taylor Swift (13), JAY-Z (14) and The Beatles (19) ahead of him.
The album is Ty Dolla $ign’s first No. 1 and second top 10 following 2020’s Featuring Ty Dolla $ign.
AD LOADING...
Ye reacted to the news by issuing a brief statement to Complex saying: “It’s a beautiful time.”
Ty also celebrated the achievement on his Instagram Stories, posting a video of him lifting his index finger to the camera while silencing the naysayers.
Released on February 10, Vultures 1 boasts uncredited appearances from Travis Scott, Playboi Carti, Lil Durk, Chris Brown, Freddie Gibbs, YG, Quavo, Rich The Kid and others.
The project was initially only available on streaming platforms and as a digital download through online retailers and Kanye West’s website.
AD LOADING...
Physical versions of the album on CD and vinyl are set to be released at a later point, with Ye’s store currently accepting pre-orders.
Vultures 1 debuts at No. 1 despite encountering a series of issues. The album was temporarily removed from streaming services five days after its release due to a complaint from its initial distributor, FUGA.
AD LOADING...
“On Friday, February 9, 2024, a long-standing FUGA client delivered the album Vultures 1 through the platform’s automated processes, violating our service agreement,” the company said. “Therefore, FUGA is actively working with its DSP partners and the client to remove Vultures 1 from our systems.”
The album was quickly reinstated on streaming platforms after Kanye and Ty Dolla found another distributor, Label Engine, who had previously released the singles “Vultures” and “Talking/Once Again.”
However, the album cut “Good (Don’t Die)” remains unavailable to stream after Kanye West was accused of sampling Donna Summer’s 1977 disco hit “I Feel Love” without permission.
Summer’s estate said on Instagram shortly after Vultures 1 dropped: “Kanye West asked permission to use Donna Summer song, ‘I Feel Love,’ [but] he was denied. He changed the words, had someone re-sing it, or used AI but it’s ‘I Feel Love’…copyright infringement!”
AD LOADING...
Before that, Ozzy Osbourne called out West for sampling Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” on “Carnival.” The Chicago native ultimately swapped out the sample for a section of his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy song “Hell of a Life,” which was already cleared to sample “Iron Man.”
Elsewhere on this week’s Billboard 200, Usher‘s Coming Home has debuted at No. 2 with 91,000 units earned in its first week, marking the singer’s highest charting album in over a decade.
AD LOADING...
The album, which featured the likes of 21 Savage, Latto and Burna Boy, was released just two days before Usher’s performance at the Super Bowl halftime show.
Meanwhile, former chart-toppers SZA‘s SOS and Drake‘s For All the Dogs remain firm in the top 10 at No. 5 and No. 10, respectively.
