Kanye West announced an NYC event for his upcoming album Vultures on Thursday – and shared a bizarre clip from the lead single’s controversial music video.
The rapper, 46, who has come under fire for Vultures’ anti-Semitic lyrics, shared a post which read ‘Vultures UBS Arena New York 02 09 24.;
The star then shared a video clip of ‘VULTURES (Havoc Version) created by Jon Rafman’ which featured post-apocalyptic scenes, a masked Kanye brandishing a gun and a burning church.
Kanye wiped his Instagram for the second time in a week while seemingly teasing a Chicago listening party for his and Ty Dolla $ign’s upcoming joint album.
On Monday, the rapper, whose wife Bianca Censori made headlines for wearing a clear raincoat with nothing underneath earlier in the day, shared an Instagram post teasing a special event scheduled to take place at United Center on Thursday.
The father-of-four went on to upload an image of the number ‘1’ on his account, most likely a nod to Vultures, Volume One, which he previously announced was dropping on February 9.
Both West, 46, and Sucker for Pain hitmaker, 41, also shared an image, which read: ‘Vultures United Center Chicago 02 08 24.’
At this time, United Center does not any events set for Thursday.
The Chicago Blackhawks, however, are scheduled to play at the stadium on Wednesday and Friday.
Back in 2021, ahead of the release of his tenth studio album Donda, he previously hosted multiple listening parties for fans in Chicago and Atlanta.
His single, Vulture, off the record, has been slammed by Jewish organizations who branded him ‘pathetic and sad’ over vile lyrics about a Jewish woman.
Vultures features the ‘offensive’ lyrics: ‘How am I anti-Semitic? I just f***ed a Jewish b****.’
The lyrics prompted a furious backlash among some fans and was even condemned by the American Jewish Committee, among others.
‘To fuel the flames of antisemitism and promote such bile to his millions of followers, especially at this fraught and dangerous time for the Jewish community, is unforgivable,’ spokesman Richard Hirschhaut told TMZ, at the time.
He added that the West’s choice is unsurprising however, given his previous antisemitic remarks.
But he said this latest scandal, ‘seems particularly pathetic and sad.’
The Anti Defamation League also joined criticism, telling the outlet: ‘At a time of rising antisemitism worldwide, it’s disgusting to see Kanye once again use his platform to spew Jew hatred.’
West has a documented history of antisemitism and last year lost out on a number of partnership deals after going on an explosive anti-Semitic rant.
The ex-husband of Kim Kardashian vowed to go ‘death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE’ in a string of sick posts online.
Shortly after the tweet, the Praise God rapper told Piers Morgan he only meant to take aim at certain specific Jews, who he felt exploited him.
When the talk show host contended the comments were ‘as racist as anything you’ve been through,’ the Gold Digger rapper retorted, ‘that’s why I said it. I fought fire with fire.’
In an interview with right wing talk show host Alex Jones in early December, Kanye praised Hitler for his ‘redeeming qualities.’
He also maintained that the ‘Holocaust is not what happened’ and promoted the conspiracy theory that Black people are the real Jews.
West’s rants saw him lose out on lucrative contracts with The Gap, Adidas and Balenciaga and more.
He was also dropped by his management team at Creative Artists Agency.
His decision to debut the song comes at a time when anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise amid the ongoing Israel Hamas conflict.
Racism against Jewish people and Muslims has soared in the wake of the October 7 attack.
According to the Anti-Defamation League the number of anti-Semitic incidents increased fourfold.
The watchdog counted 312 anti-Semitic incidents between October 7-23, ranging from harassment to vandalism and physical assaults.
Meanwhile college campuses ands schools have seen a notable spike, according to the American Jewish Committee.
A record number of incidents were reported, with nearly 100 incidents occurring at US universities between October 7 and 30.
The soaring number of incidents has prompted the White House to introduce a series of measures to tackle the ‘alarming’ rise in both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attacks.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
