2024 was a historical year for Ye, aka Kanye West. And no, it was not because he delivered his biggest hit or shook the ground with blockbuster concerts. In fact, for most of the year, Ye was making moves in absentia. The year was historical, particularly because Ye broke his musical hiatus after a significant stretch of scandal-ridden time and also released himself from the shackles of the infamous label control culture. Ye released his album, 'Vultures', entirely independently and set a new precedent for other artists with its success. 

Now, his fellow collaborator, Bump J, has publicly praised Ye for taking such a bold step despite the challenges that came with it.

Bump J guest starred in Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s 'Vultures' album in the titular track. The rapper recently took to Instagram to celebrate the album’s Gold certification and gave Ye a huge shoutout. Bump J wrote, “Foks really dropped this INDEPENDENTLY”, adding, “blackballed and shadow banned”. Even Dolla $ign reacted to the post. This came right after Ye became the sixth most-streamed artist on Spotify this year in the US, as per their Wrapped data. 

Ye’s Spotify feat, despite working independently on ‘Vultures’, was also praised by DJ Akademics. The first volume of 'Vultures' released in February this year. And it is no secret how many times the album was delayed since its first announcement. Even 'Vultures 2' had a similar experience. However, the reason behind the delays might have been much more than the alleged incompetence that fans believe has caught Ye. The rapper faced multiple controversies- from technical to legal issues- leading up the release of 'Vultures'. 

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From getting the tracks banned to sample clearing issues, ‘Vultures’ delay can be attributed to several unforeseen factors. 

The first and foremost reason as to why 'Vultures' was delayed was Ye’s stained reputation following his controversies. This led many of his former collaborators to back out of the project, including Nicki Minaj. On top of that, Ye also failed to clear samples from entities like the Backstreet Boys and Donna Summer. And then came the biggest obstacle in the album’s release- finding a distributor. 

Ye’s initial distributor, FUGA, accused the rapper of violating service agreements, which led to the album getting a boot from music streaming services. Finally, Label Engine became stepped in. Even so, Ye produced the album independently through his YZY brand and despite the challenges, the album earned over $1 million from streaming just in its first week. 

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What do you think about Bump J’s shoutout? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!