Kanye West looked to the past as he plotted a tour for his Vultures album trilogy. According to Billboard, Ye rehired his former manager John Monopoly.
Monopoly returned to the managerial role more than a decade after parting ways with Ye. The move gave Kanye a manager for the first time since 2018.
Kanye reunited with Monopoly amid efforts to arrange a world tour. Live Nation and AEG reportedly will not be involved in Kanye’s tour despite the success of his Vultures album listening parties. Ye remained a toxic figure in the music industry due to his antisemitism and other offensive remarks, which led to multiple brands cutting ties with him.
Controversy did not stop Kanye’s loyal fans from supporting him. Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s single “Carnival” made it to No. 1 on the latest Hot 100 chart. The track became Kanye’s first No. 1 song in more than 12 years.
Ye last reached the top of the Hot 100 with his Katy Perry collaboration “E.T.” in 2011. “Carnival” marked the fifth No. 1 song of his career. His other No. 1 hits were “Stronger,” “Gold Digger” and Twista’s “Slow Jamz.”
“Carnival” appeared on Kanye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1 album, which dropped in February. The track featured Playboi Carti and Rich the Kid. “Carnival” generated 33.7 million streams over the March 1-7 tracking week. The song’s chart-topping performance included 3,000 downloads sold and 3.9 million radio airplay audience impressions.
Kanye and Ty Dolla $ign were originally supposed to release Vultures 2 on March 8. The album was delayed like most of Ye’s projects in recent years. The two did not reveal a new release date for Vultures 2. The follow-up Vultures 3 was due out on April 5, but it was presumably pushed back as well.