Even if you aren't fond of Kanye West as a person, you have to give him props for being a prolific musician, as he's now been hard in the game for over two decades. Yeezy is currently approaching 47 years of age, which is considered to be pretty old as far as rappers are concerned. But you don't notice it with him as much as other aged emcees, because Ye makes more headlines for what he does outside of music. Also, in recent times he has come to regularly work with younger artists, as he did throughout Donda (2021).
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| The cover art to Carnival (2024), the first song Kanye West has dropped since 2011 to reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 . |
That said, I was a bit shocked upon first hearing that Kanye intended to drop an entire album with Ty Dolla Sign (with the pair being collectively monikered ¥$). One reason was because, even though Ty isn't that much younger than Ye, they do come from two different generations of rap. Besides that, heading into this decade, it was as if West had more or less transitioned into a gospel hip-hop, with isn't Dolla Sign's forte.
I studied most of the songs on Donda pretty extensively and, all things considered, was never convinced that Ye had truly dedicated his life to Jesus. But what I did respect him for was actually having enough clout to get a bunch of gangsta rappers to participate on what was, to a large degree, a gospel album. I doubt if there's anyone else in the music industry who could've pulled that feat off.
In all honesty, I wasn't really expecting Vultures 1 (2024) to do well. For a spell there, I didn't even think that Kanye would get around to finishing it. But not only did he complete and release the project. It instantly proved to be a major streaming success, "despite [being] independently produced and... initially unavailable on Spotify and YouTube" and with limited support from Apple. It also proceeded to secure first place upon debuting on the Billboard 200. So by the time all is said and done, Vultures 1 may even end up outperforming Donda commercially.
KANYE GOIN' GANGSTA
Another reason you may forget Kanye's age, that he's nearly 50 years old, is because some of his raps of late, such as those apparently found throughout Vultures 1, sport the same type motifs and terminology that younger industry rappers rely on. On Donda, due to the nature of the album and the fact that Yeezus was hosting it, it was as if the rappers he featured were challenged with dropping lyrics that were more meaningful than their braggadocious norm. But more recently, it appears that West has rather opted to stoop down to their level, so to speak.
I believe that Kanye's divorce from Kim Kardashian forced him over the edge. I know how emotionally devastating, world-shattering and embarrassing it is to be dumped by someone you actually love. So imagine how Yeezy must've felt when that happened to him in front of the entire world. Circa the Donda era, when it appeared that the marriage may still be salvageable, he was dropping songs about family and being a good husband and things of the sort. But now, post-divorce and with tracks like Carnival, it's as if Ye has totally flipped the switch.
THE LYRICS
The nature of this song is what I like to refer to as lyrical pornography, even though the wording of Carnival is not as graphic as some of other raps which fall into that category. Perhaps the fact that the rappers aren't, relatively speaking, going crazy with the sexual references is due to the Yeezus factor. For instance in his verse, Kanye does make a profound observation in noting that "they served us the porn since the day we was born". But he doesn't proceed to expound on the effects of that type of socialization, such as how it has led to a proliferation of songs such as Carnival which are replete with NSFW sexual references.
The title of the track is derived from a line found in the chorus which reads "she'll ride my d*ck like carnival". That's a blatant sexual metaphor, albeit one which requires a bit of imagination to decipher.
My initial theory, since Playboi Carti and co. use the term "like carnival" instead of 'like a carnival', was that they're referring to the carnival celebrations held in places like the West Indies and Latin America. To us horny dudes, those events are known for featuring scantily-clad women who basically twerk in public. There's also this prevailing stereotype that the likes of West Indian women are better at 'whining' than their American counterparts.
That understanding of the title has been buttressed by Genius scholars, though they more so speculate that the rappers are be referring to 'a carnival', in the sense of the rides that are found in amusement parks. And that may well be the case, since at the beginning of the second verse Dolla Sign notes that "she ride it like Six Flags", with Six Flags being a chain of amusement parks found in the United States.
From the intro, which is held down by a choir composed of European soccer fans backed by Playboi Carti, it is firmly established that this is an adult-oriented song, highlighted by metaphors pointing to gratifying sexual experiences. There are other topics that are also explored along the way. For instance, in the first verse, Rich the Kid drops a reference to cocaine, as well as the rapper alluding to himself being a gunslinger. The second verse, as rendered by Ty Dolla Sign, focuses largely on the vocalist's wealth and fame. But the permeating theme throughout the track centers on the sexual exploitation of women, not in a rapey sort of way, but rather how the emcees takes advantage of their groupies, if you will. And it's Playboi Carti who manages to best stick to that topic during the fourth verse.
Even though Yeezy has more or less decided to take the gangsta route, his verse is still quite different - let's say more intellectual - than the rest. Yes, he does make a couple of references to being the recipient of fellatio, while also alluding to his wherewithal to practice anal sex. But the bulk of West's verse revolves around the troubled A-lister comparing himself to R. Kelly, Bill Cosby, Diddy and Chris Brown.
The interesting thing about Yeezy likening himself to Kells, the Cos and Puff is that all three of them have experienced or are currently facing a downfall due to, most simply put, being sexual deviants. Meanwhile, Kanye himself has engaged in many questionable acts, but I can't say that I ever heard of any woman accusing him of sexual assault, as with those individuals. So he sorta references the "Me Too" movement out of the context.
But in also namedropping Breezy, who's rather faced cancel culture more along the lines of being an impenitent gangsta, it becomes more obvious that what West is doing is likewise presenting himself as a famous Blackman, a once well-received celebrity whom the system has decided to persecute, i.e. blackball or what have you. For example, according to MediaTakeOut, Kanye was recently banned from performing a free concert in Brazil due to "controversial statements he made about Adolf Hitler and Jesus". Also to note, an earlier version of Carnival featured a sample of a Black Sabbath track. But the band's frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, shut that down due to Yeezy having developed the reputation of being an antisemite (though he still got away with using the sample indirectly).
But again, unlike the celebrities he mentions in the verse, West isn't catching hell due to the way he treats women or as a result of criminal behavior. To the contrary, when Kanye was married, he appeared to be a pretty faithful husband, especially for someone of his standing. And he has never been arrested for anything really serious or sexual. West has developed the tendency to rather face criticism for things he intentionally says or does in full view of the public. But judging by the success of Vultures 1 and Carnival, he may well be "uncancellable", as some have argued.
THE VISUALS
One compelling observation concerning this track is that its cover art "depicts a closeup of a screaming and bloodied skinhead". And the reason that's intriguing is because the song itself doesn't appear to have anything whatsoever to do with skinheads nor fighting per se.
The cover art is actually an image derived from the music video to Carnival, as assembled by a Jon Rafman, a Canadian artist and generated using artificial intelligence. For the most part, the clip depicts what appears to be skinheads and rabid soccer fans, the overwhelming majority of whom are Caucasian, engaged in rioting. Contrastingly, the rappers themselves are all Black, and the lyrics center primarily on the concept of sexual gratification. So it's difficult, if not impossible to make a connection between what's being said on the track and what's being displayed in the video.
THE AUDIO
Carnival has been singled out as one of the standout tracks on Vultures 1. The instrumental, with the chanting in the background, is pretty unique. Also, I would say the lyrical flow of the first two verses, as respectively held down by Rich the Kid and Ty Dolla Sign, is damn near perfect. But as for Kanye's vocal contribution, even though his verse is the most-compelling lyrically, it sounds almost as if he's trying to imitate the rappers who preceded him. In fact, if I didn't know beforehand that it was West rapping, I never would have figured that out based on the way he actually sounds.
Meanwhile, Playboi Carti's verse is more along the lines of what some people refer to as mumble rap. That means for individuals such as myself, I wouldn't be able to make out all that he's saying without reading the lyrics.
CONCLUSION
Some rappers evolve over time. This is often necessary in the name of prolonging their relevancy in a musical genre where trends change perhaps more regularly than any other. Relatedly, on this track Kanye doesn't sound like his usual self. And whereas Carnival does have its moments, it isn't nearly as impressive or memorable as the hit songs from West's heyday.
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