Rapper/producer Rich The Kid revealed that Ye is reportedly considering ceasing all business in the hip-hop industry. Amid the retirement rumors, Ye’s 2024 album with Ty Dolla $ig, Vulture 1, also suffered a major setback on streaming platforms.

A now-deleted text chain screenshot shared to Ricch’s Instagram Stories on Tuesday, July 9, contained Ye’s message: “I am retiring from professional music.” Per Vulture, the album-maker further hinted that he’s “not sure what else to do” aside from touring his tunes.

Possibly blown away by the shocking revelation, Rich The Kid responded: “Retire? Why? How? The people need you, you and Taye and the music we’ve made is the biggest imprint in the culture as of this date in 2024. You leave me and V@ and we’ll do it all over again, the kids need you big brother Fasho, maybe some time to relax, but no retiring.”

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Is Kanye West really retiring from the music industry?

Shortly after surprising the fan community with the mind-blowing revelation, he took to the other end of social media to announce on X/Twitter that he is debuting a new collaboration with Kanye, which will be featured on his upcoming album “Life’s a Gamble.” Confirming the release date, Ricch wrote on X/Twitter, “Actually we releasing on Friday 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 7/19,” while also sharing the tracklist of his upcoming project.

The many laughing emojis on his tweet vaguely indicated that the Instagram reveal was a sham, possibly setting the shock value for an unforgettable promotional strategy. His album’s tracklist further revealed that his collaboration with Yee is titled “Plain Jane.” He was previously featured on West and Ty Dolla $ign’s (jointly known as ¥$) collaborative album “Carnival” alongside Playboi Carti. And so, Yee’s retirement lasted all of 30 minutes.

The cursed journey of Kanye West and his Vultures trilogy

In an attempt to revive his once-impressive music career, Ye initially announced a three-part project with Ty Dolla $ign. However, the album has been delayed repeatedly due to legal battles and other issues, and his upcoming “Vulture 2” album remains completely out of sight for the time being.

Meanwhile, when everything went haywire, news of the alleged leak of a song from the much-awaited and highly hyped album hit the social media.

Despite his first collaborative effort with Ty Dolla Sign reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 upon release and a newly acclaimed win as Best Group at this year’s BET Awards, Kanye West has been in the news more for other infamous and controversial reasons than his music.

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With the release date of Vultures 2 shrouded in mystery, ¥$ has already confirmed that he’ll be bringing his Vultures listening experience to Korea on August 23rd.

It remains to be seen whether ¥$’s musical trilogy will conclude this year, especially with the much-delayed arrival of the second chapter. The first version of the potentially doomed project also faced an unprecedented onslaught.

As appears to be the case, Vulture 1 was temporarily removed from Spotify’s radar on July 11. Prior to this, after its release on February 10, the album was removed from Apple Music due to disagreements with its distributor – FUGA.

“On Friday, February 9th, 2024, a long-standing FUGA client delivered the album Vulture 1 through the platform’s automated processes, in violation of our Service Agreement. Therefore, FUGA is actively working with its DSP partners and clients to remove Vulture 1 a company spokesperson told Billboard in February 2024.

At the time of writing, at least Vulture 1’s lifeline remains intact, as it was eventually reclaimed on Spotify. The same can’t be said for upcoming iterations, however, as their future remains as murky as ever.