Kanye West Teases New Album with Film by Artist Jon Rafman

Kanye West has shared a new trailer to tease his forthcoming album, Vultures, featuring sinister visuals by artist and filmmaker Jon Rafman.

The trailer—released Tuesday on X—portrays a feverish story in which a suburban city is overtaken by cultists and remade into a playground for braying wolf men, murderous clowns, and ravenous crows. West sings throughout the film, and his lyrics double as a dubious defense against allegations of misogyny and antisemitism. The trailer builds to a ghostly militia in battle formation against a backdrop of burning homes. 

As revealed in the later Instagram post by West (who now goes by Ye), the long-delayed album will release in three parts arriving on February 9, March 8, and April 5, respectively.

The Vultures collaboration marks a high-profile test of the spotlight for Rafman, whose career was derailed in 2020 after three women accused the Canadian artist of sexual misconduct on the Instagram @surviving_the_artworld. The account, which was launched at the height of the #MeToo movement, posted recollections of abusive behavior in the art industry.

Rafman issued a statement apologizing for his conduct in 2020, and later told Artnet News, “I empathize with their voices, but I disagree with how these testimonies have been labeled on Instagram and in the press.”

Rafman’s surreal video installations and film essays have been widely exhibited—his Dream Journal (2016–2019) was included in the 2019 Venice Biennale—but several solo exhibitions were suspended in the wake of the scandal.

West, himself no stranger to controversy, has been heavily condemned for antisemitic behavior that stretches back over a decade. In 2023, he publicly apologized for his inflammatory remarks. If the Vultures trailer is taken as evidence, however, he has pivoted and is now on the offensive.