Ty Dolla $ign dismissed anyone questioning him for working with Kanye West after brands cut ties with Ye over antisemitism and other controversial remarks. The West Coast singer defended Kanye in a Billboard cover story published on Thursday (June 20).
“Ye is the best artist of this generation, besides me, and I don’t give a f### about what people were talking about,” Ty Dolla $ign said. “I know my n####. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met.”
Ty Dolla $ign claimed he never worried about Kanye’s reputation affecting their Vulture 1 album’s commercial performance.
“Just with my analysis of how it goes with him, he goes all the way to the top,” he noted. “And something may happen and he’ll say [something people find offensive] — and then people [get] right back, you know. Because this s### is undeniable.”
The Atlantic Records artist’s pre-release expectations proved to be correct. Vultures 1 debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in February.
A sequel, Vultures 2, was originally scheduled to drop in March. Kanye and Ty Dolla $ign delayed the project because they were still figuring out how to release it.
“We got all the songs,” Ty Dolla $ign said. “Basically, it’s just like, ‘How can we get it there? How can we go bigger than the first album?’”
Rumors suggested Ye wanted to avoid streaming services and arrange a direct-to-consumer release for Vultures 2. Ty Dolla $ign confirmed the strategy was a legitimate consideration for the upcoming album.
“Why not?” he said. “Switch it up. [Kanye’s] always got something up his sleeve. I always got some[thing] up my sleeve.”
Vultures 2 is meant to be the second album in a trilogy. But Kanye’s unpredictability makes it hard to believe anything he’s involved in will go according to plan.