On Sunday (Aug. 11), Billboard confirmed that, after a six-day tracking period, Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign's VULTURES 2 officially debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 107,000 album-equivalent units sold. The project was bested by Taylor Swift's THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, which topped the chart for its 14th week with 142,000 units.
For Ye, VULTURES 2 is the fourth release to land at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, joining debut album, The College Dropout, his KIDS SEE GHOSTS project with Kid Cudi, and Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel Summer, a 2011 G.O.O.D. Music compilation with appearances from then-signees like Pusha T, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, John Legend and Common. Excluding the unconventional Donda 2, every other full-length effort from the Chicago giant's discography entered the charts at No. 1.
Including the digital deluxe edition, the sequel to February's VULTURES 1 consisted of 21 songs with contributions from Don Toliver, Kodak Black, Playboi Carti, Future, Lil Wayne, Desiigner, Young Thug and more. Two of Ye's children, Chicago West and a Japanese-speaking North West, also appeared on the standout cut "BOMB." Last Wednesday (Aug. 7), fans were treated to a CGI-generated visual for "FRIED," the latest collaboration with the Inter Milan Ultras.
As REVOLT previously reported, VULTURES 2 was met with multiple delays prior to its arrival. "We got all the songs. Basically, it’s just like, 'How can we get it there? How can we go bigger than the first album?'" Ty Dolla Sign explained to Billboard regarding the hold-up at the time. “Certain people will probably expect you to just do the same exact sound. But that sound’s already out."
Since its release, the genre-bending body of work was also met with criticism due to what many speculated to be unfinished versions of songs. In an Instagram Story that's made rounds on social media, Yeezy Chief of Staff Eric J. Cui stated that several tracks on VULTURES 2 have since been updated.