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The Hooligans (group)

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Not to be confused with The Hooligans (band).
The Hooligans
The Hooligans in March 2025
The Hooligans in March 2025
Background information
Also known asHooligan Choir
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresHip-hop
Years active2025–present
LabelsYZY

The Hooligans (also referred to as the Hooligan Choir) are a vocal group led by American rapper Kanye West. Prior to their formation, West had used the "Hooligans" name in reference to the Curva Nord Milan ultras, whom he previously collaborated with on the songs "Stars", "Carnival", "Time Moving Slow", "Fried", and "River" (all 2024).

In March 2025, West would create a casting call for a new Hooligans group in Los Angeles, California, coinciding with a similar call for new members of the Sunday Service Choir.[1] This incarnation would later feature on the controversial single "Heil Hitler" (2025), as well as its subsequent "Hallelujah" version. They have since performed the track at various locations, and are believed to be based in West's Los Angeles warehouse, which he has been using as "Yeezy HQ".

History

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First iteration

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Richard Santoro and Zylah, two artists credited with work on West's collaborative albums with Ty Dolla Sign (Vultures 1 and Vultures 2), came with West to see a Serie A match in Italy, as requested by his son Saint. Santoro encouraged West to come to the game, as he was a fan of Inter Milan. During the game, West had become "very impressed by the passion of the ultras", asking Santoro to bring him members for his own use. Though this plan initially failed, West was able to work with the ultras once he began recording in Saudi Arabia, creating a group of 200 members to record with, under the guide of Federico Secondomè and guitarist Keith Richard. They recorded five songs during these sessions, which would later be released on both Vultures albums.[2]

On Vultures 1, released in February of 2024, West would use the ultras on the track "Stars", as well as the US Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper "Carnival".[2][3][4] On April 20, West would use the ultras on the track "Like That Remix" with Metro Boomin and Future.[5] On Vultures 2, released in August of 2024, West would use the ultras again on three songs: "Time Moving Slow", "Fried", and "River", with "Fried" drawing comparisons to "Carnival" due to the production and usage of the ultras.[6][7][8]

Second iteration

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On March 16, 2025, West would post a casting call for the new incarnation of the Hooligans to Twitter. In his post, he laid out several absurd rules for any "all male volunteers" interested in joining, such as disallowing fat people from applying, preferring those with the skin complexion of Sean Combs, and requiring members to be "comfortable wearing swastikas."[9][10] West would also post "urgent" flyers seeking "African American males" for the choir around Los Angeles.[11]

From March–April, West would host tryouts for new members at his Los Angeles warehouse, which he had been using as a headquarters. He would "train" his group by having them perform to his singles "Carnival" (2024) and "Black Skinhead" (2013), causing West's neighbors to complain about the noise coming from his warehouse. Allegedly, a Nazi swastika was painted on the side of the building, which faced a nearby elementary school.[11] Law enforcement officials who spoke to TMZ reported that they had received over a dozen calls in the past two months in relation to "where Kanye West is doing business for an upcoming event."[12][13]

This new iteration of the group would first appear on the song "Heil Hitler", released as a single on May 8, 2025. Due to its antisemitic theming, including a sample from a Adolf Hitler speech in its outro, the song received widespread condemnation from media outlets.[14][15][16] The main version of the track is also known as the "Hooligan Version" in reference to the group's vocals being present.[17] After West had tweeted that he was "done" with antisemitism, he released a christian version of the song, titled "Hallelujah", which contains alternate vocals from both himself and the Hooligans.[18]

Public appearances

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The Hooligans have made several appearances since the release of "Heil Hitler", including performing the song at Sean Combs' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[19] The same day, the group were spotted inside of a Buffalo Wild Wings, but were later kicked out.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Paul, Bryson "Boom" (2025-03-09). "Hallelujah! Kanye West & The Sunday Service Choir Makes Its Return On March 16". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  2. ^ a b "Come la Curva dell'Inter è finita nel nuovo disco di Kanye West e perché potrebbe addirittura accompagnarlo live in Italia". Rockit.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-05-13.
  3. ^ Alexandria, Lavender (February 15, 2024). "Kanye West Recruited Inter Milan Fans to Record Backup Vocals for 'Carnival'". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on February 16, 2024.
  4. ^ Sernagiotto, Camilla (February 13, 2024). "Kanye West nel nuovo album Vultures 1 campiona i cori della curva degli ultras dell'Inter | Sky TG24" [Kanye West samples Inter ultras chants in new album Vultures 1] (in Italian). Sky TG24. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Saponara, Michael (2024-04-22). "Ye Explains How His Remix of Drake Diss Track 'Like That' Happened". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  6. ^ Attard, Paul (August 5, 2024). "Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign Vultures 2 Review: Phoned in and Disconnected". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  7. ^ Kearse, Stephen (November 2, 2024). "Vultures 2". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on August 14, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  8. ^ Nevares, Gabriel Bras (August 6, 2024). "Kanye West & Ty Dolla Sign Vultures 2 Album Review". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  9. ^ Serna, Vanessa (2025-03-17). "Kanye West doubles down on hateful views with insane casting call parameters". Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  10. ^ Sen, Sumanti (2025-03-18). "'No fat people, must be comfortable wearing swastikas': Kanye West's disturbing casting call sparks fury". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  11. ^ a b Inman, DeMicia (2025-04-24). "Ye Reportedly Disrupts L.A. Neighborhood With Loud Auditions And Swastika Graffiti". VIBE.com. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  12. ^ Staff, T. M. Z. (2025-04-23). "Kanye West's Loud Auditions Aggravating Residents in L.A. Neighborhood". TMZ. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  13. ^ Moore, Sam (2025-04-23). "Kanye West In Trouble Over 'Swastika' Auditions". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  14. ^ Goggin, Ben (2025-05-11). "Ye song glorifying Hitler gets millions of views on X while other platforms struggle to remove it". NBC News. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  15. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (2025-05-15). "Kanye Gave Twitter an Exclusive Hit Single". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  16. ^ JERUSALEM POST STAFF (2025-05-08). "Kanye West releases new song praising Hitler, Nazis | The Jerusalem Post". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  17. ^ Woodcock, Zara (2025-05-08). "Kanye West shares vile new song on VE Day sampling Nazi leader Adolf Hitler". The Mirror. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  18. ^ Paul, Bryson "Boom" (2025-05-31). "Kanye West Drops Holy Version Of His Controversial "Heil Hilter" Song". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  19. ^ Spence, Niamh (2025-05-27). "Kanye West's Hooligans branded 'shameful' for anti-Semitic performance". Irish Star. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  20. ^ Price, Joe. "Choir Sings Ye's "Heil Hitler" Track at Walk of Fame". Complex. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
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