Kanye Announces ‘Vultures’ Listening Event Ahead of Volume 1 Release

It's a bit of a shorter edition today. We’re still processing everything that went down at the Grammys but hoping we finally get a new Kanye album this week. In other news today:

• Billboard Hot 100 📈 

• Kanye announces ‘Vultures’ Vol. 1 listening event 🔥 

• Killer Mike’s Grammys arrest & Travis Scott’s snub 😤 

• Industry Insights 📈 

Billboard Hot 100

The above chart shows Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking for this week. The Hot 100 ranks songs based on streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales data—all measured by Luminate.

Megan Thee Stallion’s new single “Hiss” debuted at #1 meanwhile Nicki Minaj’s single “Big Foot” debuted at #23. Elsewhere, 21 Savage’s “redrum” stays in the Top 10, moving up one spot to #9.

Kanye Announces ‘Vultures’ Listening Event Ahead of Volume 1 Release

As the alleged release date for Vultures approaches, the anticipation and subsequent anxiety, given Kanye’s cancellation track record, builds. The good news is that he and Ty Dolla $ign are holding another Vultures listening event in Chicago this Thursday. Here’s everything you need to know.

Kanye and Ty Dolla posted the flyer for the event on Monday (Feb 5), confirming the location—Chicago’s United Center—and the date—Feb 8. The United Center has a capacity of 23,500 for concerts, and tickets went on sale today (Feb 6), generating a queue of 20,000+.

Prices ranged from $95 to $235, depending on the section. At the time of writing, tickets were still available but in limited quantities.

United Center described the event as “a high-fidelity audio and visual showcase, crafted by Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign” and said attendees will experience Vultures with album collaborators before it “becomes available to the general public at 11 pm CST on the same day.”

The listening event is usually the last stop on a long, drawn-out Kanye rollout. His previous premieres include:

• The Life of Pablo in 2016 at NYC’s Madison Square Garden

• Ye at his Wyoming Ranch in 2018

• Donda at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Chicago’s Soldier Field in 2021

Killer Mike’s Grammys Arrest & Travis Scott’s Grammys Snub

Soon after Killer Mike’s controversial Grammy wins, footage went viral of him being arrested and escorted out of the Crypto.com Arena in LA, where the awards show was taking place. Comedic theories about him robbing Travis Scott of the Best Rap Album award and Cactus Jack calling the police flooded the comments section, but here’s what really happened.

Initial reports said Killer Mike was taken into custody on a citizen’s arrest after an altercation with security at the venue. Rolling Stone spoke with a law enforcement official, and they claimed Mike was stopped by a staff member backstage following his wins.

The female security guard alleges that she asked him to see his tickets and directed him to a security checkpoint. He refused and tried to make his way around her, which led to a physical altercation in which he “pushed her to the ground” and caused injuries to her hands and fingers.

She called for backup from her fellow security officers and signed a citizen’s arrest for misdemeanor battery. This led to the video footage of Mike being arrested and released a few hours later.

Travis Scott’s 10 nominations and 0 wins

The night's biggest disappointment for Travis Scott fans was his loss to Mike for Best Rap Album. Despite being named as one of the awards performers, he lost to another nominee for the 10th time.

Taking the stage to perform “My Eyes,” “I Know?,” and “FE!N,” Travis stood on an ominous set, surrounded by smoke and strobe lights. Playboi Carti joined him for the highly-anticipated “FE!N,” and Travis appeared to break the chairs on stage along with other props in a rampage. 

He also improvised the lyrics, rapping “They slept on me 10 times.” Fans have speculated that the lyric and act of artistic aggression directly responded to his Grammys loss.

• Lil Jon is reportedly releasing a guided meditation album. It’s rumored to have 10 tracks and to be released five days after Lil Jon’s surprise appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show.

• Megan Thee Stallion’s new deal with Warner Music Group allows her to retain ownership of masters. She’ll remain an independent artist while utilizing the distribution and resources of WMG.

• Spotify crosses the 600M monthly active users mark. Plus, their Spotify Wrapped campaign drew more than 225M users, as reported in their 2023 Q4 earnings report.

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