Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign recently revealed the cover art of their Vultures 2 album, which is the follow-up to their joint project Vultures 1. But what’s the story behind the LP artwork?
Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign Unveil Vultures 2 Album Cover Art
On Saturday (March 9), Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign jumped on social media and unveiled the cover art to their Vultures 2 album, which is the sequel to their collaborative project Vultures 1. The LP artwork features a masked figure, presumably Kanye, holding a portrait of what appears to be Ty Dolla’s incarcerated brother Big TC.
“VULTURES 2,” Ye captioned the post on his Instagram account, which can be viewed below. Ty Dolla shared the same image and caption on his IG page as well.
The rap duo’s follow-up project was scheduled to drop on Friday (March 8), nearly a month after their previous album, Vultures 1, hit DSPs on Feb. 10. The album spent two consecutive weeks at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. There’s no word on when Kanye and Ty Dolla will release Vultures 2.
Read More: Fans Make Hilarious Versions of Kanye’s NSFW Vultures 1 Cover Art
The Story Behind Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign’s Vultures 2 Album Cover Art
Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign’s Vultures 2 album features Ye holding a photo of Ty Dolla’s incarcerated brother, Jabreal Muhammad aka Big TC.
Big TC is currently serving 67 years to life at Calipatria State Prison for first-degree murder that he maintains he didn’t commit. Ty Dolla also supports his brother’s claim of innocence.
In 2015, Ty Dolla titled his debut album Free TC and featured his brother on the LP track “Miracle/Wherever.” In a 2014 interview with XXL, the singer-songwriter explained why he wanted to bring attention to his brother’s legal plight through the title of his album.
“[I wanted] to raise awareness to the racial and social injustices and mass incarceration that’s going on in our country right now,” Ty Dolla shared with XXL at the time. “This is more than just an album; it’s a movement.”
In 2016, Ty Dolla $ign dropped the protest single, “No Justice,” which featured Big TC, as well as the documentary Free TC, which can be viewed below.
Directed by Daniel Kaufman, the black-and-white documentary features quotes from TC who is proud of his brother’s accomplishments in music.
“In here [prison], music connects me to my freedom,” TC states in the doc. “Watching my brother do his thing, it’s beautiful, it’s amazing. Like I said, he ain’t never done nothing else.”
Big TC is also featured on Ty Dolla Sign’s 2020 single, “Free TC,” which can be streamed below.
Read More: Ty Dolla Sign Shows Apple Music Not Promoting Vultures 1 Album
Check out Ye and Ty Dolla’s Vultures 2 album cover art below. Also, watch Ty Dolla’s documentary Free TC below.