Kanye West cancels further “Vultures” listening parties - 24 hours after lawsuit filed against him

Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, has cancelled future listening parties alongside Ty Dolla $ign for “Vultures, only a day after a lawsuit was filed against the controversial hip-hop artist in Los Angeles.

The lawsuit, submitted in Los Angeles on April 2, levels several serious allegations against Ye, including verbal abuse, threats of physical violence, and disturbing comparisons to Adolf Hitler.

The listening party, offering fans a sneak peek of the second record from the forthcoming “Vultures” trilogy, was intended to complement the release of the first album which dropped in February. But now, as reported by Variety, the decision has been made at the 11th hour to scrap the parties. 

Official updates have removed listings for these concerts from Ye's Ticketmaster page, and statements from the venues in Florida have pointed to "time constraints for Ye and Ty Dolla $ign to curate production and meet logistic requirements" as the reason for the cancellations.

Those areas affected by the cancellation include Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Charlotte and Washington D.C. Some fans have noted on social media that a few of these shows were cancelled before tickets went on sale - with that leading to even more speculation that “Vultures 2”, which was set for a March 8 2024 release date, will not end up being released after Ye hinted he wouldn’t include the new works on streaming platforms.

'Vultures 1' faced its share of controversy, receiving criticism for its lyrical content and allegations of unauthorized music sampling from Ozzy Osbourne and the estate of Donna Summer, leading to threats of legal action. 

Despite these challenges, the album achieved notable success, topping the Billboard 200 albums chart for two weeks and having its single 'Carnival' reach number two on the Billboard Hot 100