On January 23, 2024, West revealed that a Vultures series would be released as a trilogy, with the first being released in February, the second on March 8, and the final on April 5.[1]Vultures 1, first part of the album, released on February 10, had a slight delay and went on to reach number one on the Billboard 200 as well as in numerous other countries.[2] On February 25, Timbaland, who also worked on Vultures 1, announced that the second installment was "on the way".[3] On March 3, French Montana announced his involvement and shared a clip of him and the duo in the recording studio.[4] After the album had not come out on its scheduled release date of March 8, West announced that Vultures 2 was still in the works as he and Ty Dolla Sign were still "in the lab".[5][6] West and Ty Dolla Sign held a private listening party on the scheduled date with a DJ setting, where the rapper was joined by his partner Bianca Censori.[7]
On March 10, in a conversation with a Kanye West fan page, West mentioned that he would be selling Vultures 2 on the Yeezy website for $20 instead of releasing it on streaming platforms like Vultures 1.[8] He stated this decision was made so "We won't have the streaming companies in control of the artist anymore".[9] On March 14, 1-minute previews of the Vultures 2 tracks were released on TikTok and Instagram under West's account.[10] West and Ty Dolla Sign later announced a new release date of May 3 in an interview with Justin LaBoy on his The Download podcast. Rolling Stone also confirmed the track "Let Me Chill Out" featuring the late rapper Takeoff.[11] Despite the announcement, the album did not release on May 3.
On July 6, Ty Dolla $ign posted an official announcement of a listening event scheduled for August 23 in South Korea on Instagram. In the same week, West claimed he retired from professional music via fellow collaborator Rich The Kid's Instagram story. This retirement lasted roughly 30 minutes before a track with rapper Consequence titled "No Apologies" was announced to release on July 12.[citation needed]
On March 9, West announced the album and revealed its artwork through his Twitter account.[12] The cover features a masked Ty Dolla Sign dressed in all black holding an image of his brother, Jabreal "Big TC" Muhammad, who is currently serving a life sentence for a murder the brothers claim he did not commit.[13]
Many songs are expected to be on the album by fans, with assumptions stemming from West's social media previews[14][10] and listening parties.[15] The track "Ye About Mine" (known then as "Let Me Chill Out") was confirmed by Rolling Stone.[16]
