The Hooligans (group)

Not to be confused with The Hooligans (band).

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 his 2024 songs with Ty Dolla Sign: "Stars", "Carnival", "Time Moving Slow", and "Fried".

The Hooligans
The Hooligans in March 2025
Background information
Also known as	Hooligan Choir
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Hip-hop
Years active	2025–present
Labels	YZY

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 appear on his controversial 2025 single "Heil Hitler", as well as its censored version, "Hallelujah". 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

First iteration

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 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 2024, West would use the ultras again on two songs: "Time Moving Slow" and "Fried", with the latter drawing comparisons to "Carnival" due to its production style and usage of the ultras.^[6][7][8]

Second iteration

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

The Hooligans have made several appearances since the release of "Heil Hitler", including allegedly performing the song at Sean Combs' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[19] After being asked to leave, the purported group were spotted inside of a Buffalo Wild Wings later the same day.^[20]