Ye played Vultures to his hometown in a hockey mask and never said a word

Ye went home to Chicago on 8 Feb 2024 and didn’t say a word. He stood in the middle of the United Center in a white hockey mask while Vultures 1 played, Complex reported. Billboard had the rest of the look: a black leather bomber with a 1 on the back, leather trousers, and the mask, à la Jason Voorhees.

Two days later the mask was on the album cover. The look went from a hometown arena to the record sleeve to yeezy.com inside a weekend. And the man who’d actually played Jason had notes.

Sold out in seven minutes, by Ye’s count

The event was only announced that week. Ye said in a since-deleted post that it sold out in seven minutes, the Sun-Times reported. Doors ran late, and Ye and Ty Dolla $ign didn’t come out until shortly after 10 p.m., Ty in a black half-ski mask and a long coat.

For about an hour the two of them walked a smoke-filled stage as the album played. It wasn’t only the two of them: North West came out for “Talking/Once Again”, and YG, Freddie Gibbs and Bump J got their turns too. It was a paid stream on Veeps, where Ye’s earlier listening parties had streamed free, Complex noted. Billboard pointed out that both men’s looks matched the “Vultures” video, which came out that day.

The mask sticks

Vultures 1 came out on 10 Feb 2024, and it’s Ye in the hockey mask on the cover, next to Bianca Censori, XXL reported. The same day, yeezy.com put up the Vultures box tees and a black tee with a big 1 on it, the same number as the back of the bomber.

A day later Kane Hodder weighed in. He’s played Jason in the Friday the 13th films, and he told TMZ Ye’s mask was “kind of a cheesy one.”

Hodder didn’t leave it there. He offered to lend Ye one of his.