Vultures 1 review: Kanye’s talents appear to be spent as we hear more verbal diarrhoea from a man with little to say

Since then, his output has veered from merely average to woeful. It’s coincided with an extremely turbulent private life which, for a man who has consistently over-shared, has been played out in the public glare. West seems incapable of self-filtering and has regurgitated several abhorrent views, both in song and outside the studio. He has become something of a parody of himself, one who seeks to offend simply for shock value.

Most recently, he has been accused of antisemitism, and half-baked apologies feel especially insincere when one listens to his latest album, Vultures 1. Written and recorded with the US rapper Ty Dolla $ign, it was released, suddenly, last weekend. The title track confronts the alleged anti-Jewish sentiments head on, but his words only serve to fan the flames. “How am I antisemetic?” he raps, “I just f***ed a Jewish bitch. I just f***ed Scooter’s bitch.” It’s a reference to the Jewish music mogul Scooter Braun, sometime nemesis of Taylor Swift. Like so much of the lyrical content, it’s witless stuff, the verbal diarrhoea of a man with little to say.

As has been so often the case with West’s albums from 2013’s Yeezus onwards, this album comes freighted with controversy and acrimony. Nicki Minaj requested that her contribution not be used because it was recorded so long ago while Ozzy Osbourne has reportedly slapped West with a cease and desist letter after the rapper used a sample of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs without permission. “He’s a disrespectful antisemite,” Ozzy’s wife, Sharon, said. “He f***ed with the wrong Jew this time.”

West has also upset the estate of the late Donna Summer. He sampled I Feel Love without getting the go ahead.

Despite his entreaties that he has been cancelled, there is no shortage of big name artists on this album, most prominently Travis Scott. West’s eldest daughter, North, also makes an appearance. Timbaland and James Blake are among the roll-call of producers.

Ty Dolla $ign is something of a stabilising force. His rapping is the more compelling, especially on standout Problematic, and one senses he has helped rein in some of West’s tendency for sonic self-indulgence.

There are glimpses of his old brilliance here and there. Carnival is the sort of dazzling track that he seemingly delivered at will in the noughties, although joking about child abusers R Kelly and Bill Cosby leaves an ugly residue. Do It, meanwhile, is vintage Kanye, and enlivened thanks to a sample of Juvenile’s Back That Azz Up.

Too often, though, West’s creativity seems spent, despite the best efforts of co-conspirator Ty. It is, reportedly, the first of a planned trilogy of albums between the pair. The quality of parts two and three will largely depend on where West’s head is at. Can he ever regain the gifts that were once so startling?