Bully (album)

''Bully'' (stylized in all caps) is the upcoming twelfth studio album by American rapper Kanye West. He announced the album in September 2024 and released multiple work-in-progress versions, with different tracklists, via Twitter in March 2025. These versions feature guest appearances from Peso Pluma, Playboi Carti, and Ty Dolla Sign. Three songs from the album were released as an extended play (EP) on June 20, 2025, with two more songs being released on June 27. The full album is expected to be released on September 26, 2025.

''Bully'' was originally released as a short film, directed by West and edited by Hype Williams. It stars West's son, Saint, who fights New Japan Pro-Wrestling wrestlers with a toy mallet. Sonically, the album resembles West's work on ''808s & Heartbreak'' (2008) and ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010). It extensively relies on sampling and interpolation, and West mostly sings instead of rapping. About half of West's vocals in the original releases are artificial intelligence-generated audio deepfakes, although he intends to re-record the lyrics with his own vocals.

''Bully'' was recorded as West became the subject of controversy for promoting hate speech, including making antisemitic statements, endorsing Nazism, and insulting family and associates, on his Twitter account. While ''Bully'' cover art features Saint, West also shared another cover featuring a red swastika, although this cover would be left unused. West released multiple versions on Twitter on March 18 with no prior announcement, asserting it remained a work in progress. ''Bully'' has received positive reviews, with praise for its production.

Background

According to the producer Mike Dean, Kanye West began working on the ''Bully'' song "Beauty and the Beast" during the sessions for his album ''Donda'' (2021). West offered the song "Preacher Man" to Drake, who declined, before incorporating it into ''Bully''. In 2024, West collaborated with the American singer Ty Dolla Sign to release the collaborative albums ''Vultures 1'' and ''Vultures 2'' as ¥$. ''Vultures 1'' received mixed reviews, while ''Vultures 2'' was panned for being released in an unfinished state and its alleged use of artificial intelligence (AI). Producer Erick Sermon said that West had been working on a solo album, ''Y3'', before putting it aside to work on ''Vultures''. Sermon said that he had contributed to ''Y3'' in 2023. West denied Sermon's story, messaging a fan account to state that there was no album in development with that name.

Recording

Following the ''Vultures'' releases, the record producer Digital Nas shared text messages from West indicating his intention to go into "full art studio mode". On September 26, 2024, West posted a video on Instagram showing himself using an ASR-10 keyboard to create "Preacher Man", which had been previewed at the listening events.

During his performance at the Wuyuan River Stadium in Haikou, China after the release of ''Vultures 2'' on September 28, West announced ''Bully'', previewing "Beauty and the Beast" and "Preacher Man". He posted several previews on Instagram and his website over the next few days. American music journalist Touré reported that ''Bully'' would be a concept album inspired by West's solitude living in Tokyo, with West as its sole producer:

On October 25, West made the album available for pre-order on his website in vinyl and CD formats, alongside a ''Bully'' themed merch collection. In a February 2025 interview, West said ''Bully'' would feature AI vocals. He responded to backlash by comparing AI to Auto-Tune, a technology that faced similar backlash before becoming widely accepted in music. He said ''Bully'' was scheduled for release on June 15, his daughter North's birthday. On February 9, he released "Beauty and the Beast" on his website. On March 20, West said that "Melrose", a song featuring Playboi Carti and Ty Dolla Sign from the preview tracklist, would not be on the album. He replied to a fan that he would turn it into a solo song. West's decision to cut "Melrose" likely stems from his anger over not being featured on Carti's third studio album, ''Music''.

Synopsis

''Bully'' is accompanied by a black-and-white short film, directed by West and starring his son Saint. The film depicts Saint in a wrestling ring, fending off aggressors with a toy mallet. The professional wrestlers Yoh, Toru Yano, Tiger Mask, and El Desperado from New Japan Pro-Wrestling portray Saint's opponents. The album plays over the footage, which lasts for about half an hour. According to ''Rolling Stone'' Jayson Buford, Saint represents West himself, "who envisions himself as a martyr being attacked by all sides." However, the film's tone is ridiculous and comedic; '' GQ'' Paul Thompson wrote that the visuals feature "a playfulness, a generosity" reflected in the music.

Songs

''Bully V1'' contains nine or ten songs, depending on the version. The track listing differs across the versions as well. ''Bully V1'' opens with "Preacher Man", a minimalist track in which West raps about celebrity. The fourth track on the "post Hype version", "Circles", features "a patient, lively beat" flipped from French band Cortex's song "Huit Octobre 1971" (1975). The title track, "Bully", features West using heavy Auto-Tune, which Buford compared to his performance on ''808s & Heartbreak'' (2008).

Other tracks include "Highs and Lows" and "Last Breath", the latter of which features Mexican singer Peso Pluma. "Melrose", featuring West's frequent collaborators Playboi Carti and Ty Dolla Sign, is the tenth and final track on the version West released on Twitter, but is absent from the YouTube upload.

Musical style

''Billboard'' Gil Kaufman wrote that sonically, ''Bully'' resembles West's "most experimental, creatively lauded period" from the late 2000s, specifically ''808s & Heartbreak'' (2008) and ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010). Kaufman described the songs as "spare, soul-flecked compositions", featuring West crooning with vocals processed through Auto-Tune. West mostly sings instead of rapping, and according to him, half of his vocals are AI-generated deepfakes. Thompson wrote that West's use of AI is not immediately obvious, since " isvocals for the most part function as texture rather than the songs' engine". He said it becomes clear about halfway through the album due to the vocals' resemblance to those in ''808s & Heartbreak''.

Along with the album's vocals, ''Bully'' also employs AI software in its production. In his February 2025 interview with Justin LaBoy, West championed the benefits of AI stem separation, stating, "right now, you can take any song and separate it; just get the vocals, just get the bassline, the drums; and completely separate it. So when I send a song or a sample to my engineers, I just say, ' ohn Scott AI.'" West had previously used AI separation technology on his collaboration with Kano Computing, the Stem Player.

As with West's early work, ''Bully'' relies heavily on sampling. Recordings such as "A Change Is Gonna Come" (1964) by Sam Cooke, "You Can't Hurry Love" (1966) by the Supremes, "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (1970) by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, "Huit Octobre 1971" (1975) by Cortex, "Bésame Mamá" (1996) by Poncho Sanchez, and "Soleil Soleil" (2020) by Pomme are sampled or interpolated. One track, "Losing Your Mind", features an artificial intelligence deepfake cover of the Can song "Vitamin C" (1972), while "Bully" samples the ''Simpsons'' character Nelson Muntz's "haw haw!" catchphrase. ''MusicTech'' and ''Variety'' noted that many of these appeared to be uncleared. Pomme had previously denied West permission to sample "Soleil Soleil", citing disagreements with his political views.

Releases

''Bully V1''

West initially announced a release date of June 15, 2025, coinciding with the 12th birthday of his daughter, North West. Three early versions of the album were surprise released, each with different track listings, on March 18, 2025, via his Twitter account. He stated that the album was a work in progress, and expressed regret for using AI, saying he had grown to hate it. West intends to work on the album further, as well as re-record the lyrics with his own vocals, adding that he may not release it on digital streaming platforms because of his belief that "streams are fake and the French and Jewish record labels treat artists like prostitutes".

West released ''Bully V1'' amidst controversy arising from his hate speech during Twitter rants, in which he made antisemitic remarks, defended Sean Combs, and insulted his ex-wife Kim Kardashian; his former associate Jay-Z, his wife Beyoncé, and their children; and fellow rappers such as Playboi Carti, Tyler, the Creator, and Future.

West released a "screening version", a "post Hype version", and a "post post Hype version". On March 22, West published the screening version, dated December 2024, on YouTube. Media publications noted tracklist differences across the versions. The screening version does not feature "Melrose", which is the last song in the others. The YouTube and Apple Music releases were taken down shortly after being uploaded without explanation.

Full release

Despite the March video release, West reaffirmed during a recorded meeting with streamer Sneako on May 24, 2025 that ''Bully'' would receive a full release on June 15, 2025. West would acknowledge his original October 25 pre-order for the album, saying that "We sold vinyl, though. We just haven't made them yet. That s**t is like, 30,000 units or something like that." He spent much of the meeting discussing how artists are exploited by the music industry, encouraging them to fight back. The album ultimately missed the original release date.

On June 16, five tracks intended to feature on ''Bully'' were uploaded to the ISRC website under the artist names "Ye" and "Kanye West":
* "Highs and Lows" — 1:44
* "Beauty and the Beast" — 1:46
* "Preacher Man" — 3:08
* "Damn" — 2:13
* "White Lines" — 2:10
Afterwards, West would allegedly tell the fan account YeFanatics that he planned to release the album in sets of five songs. The DMs posted by the account implied that five songs would be released on the 16th, and another five on the 17th. On June 20, West would release "Beauty and the Beast", "Preacher Man", and "Damn" to streaming platforms as a 3-track extended play (EP) under the same name as the album. On June 27, West would briefly upload a second EP to YouTube and Tidal, containing the tracks "Last Breath" and "Losing Your Mind". It would be taken down a few hours later. On July 2, ''Bully'' was made available to pre-save on the "Ye" and "Kanye West" Spotify profiles, with a tracklist of 13 songs, to be released on July 25. On July 3, the second ''Bully'' EP would be re-released. On July 18, ''Bully'' was delayed to be released on September 26, 2025.

Artwork and title

On October 23, 2024, West posted ''Bully'' cover, shot by the Japanese photographer Daidō Moriyama, on Instagram. It features a black-and-white image of his son Saint West wearing titanium grills, similar to those West has worn since January 2024. West said the title ''Bully'' was a reference to Saint, who he observed kicking a kid for being "weak".

Speaking on the photoshoot process, grills designer Omar Alvarado said:

On March 16, 2025, West tweeted an image of a red Nazi swastika against a black background and claimed it was ''Bully'' new cover art. He also tweeted the ''Schutzstaffel'' insignia, both in white and red variants, and claimed it was the new Sunday Service Choir logo. He quickly deleted the tweets, and the YouTube upload features the Saint cover.

Critical reception

''Bully'' received positive reviews. ''Billboard'' Michael Saponara found that those willing to overlook West's behavior enjoyed ''Bully'' and praised it as evocative of his 2000s work, such as ''808s & Heartbreak''. Thompson wrote that it brought him "no pleasure to report that Kanye West made a good Kanye West album", describing ''Bully'' as "not only the best collection of beats he's assembled in more than a decade, but a rich, warm, even optimistic record that feels safely cloistered from the internet, the world, even its primary author." Thompson favorably compared its production to West's singles " Only One" (2014) and "FourFiveSeconds" (2015). ''The Breakfast Club'' Nyla Symone said she liked the ''Bully'' songs she had listened to, adding that while she doubted West could make a comeback, "as far as being excellent at his craft, he's never swayed from that."

Jayson Buford of ''Rolling Stone'' described ''Bully'' as West's best album since ''The Life of Pablo'' (2016), "show ngglimmers of the artist he once was." He felt it indicated that West was still capable of quality work, but also found it his first boring album and not good enough to restore his reputation. In particular, he found the track "Bully" to suffer from "nonsensical" lyricism. ''Billboard'' Kyle Dennis criticized ''Bully'' curation and sequencing, saying of West's albums "I haven't had a favorable listening experience top-to-bottom in quite some time."

Track listing

All tracks are stylized in all caps. The full streaming release of the album is set to contain a total of 13 tracks.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

* John Scott – mixing engineer, mastering engineer
* Josh Shuck – mixing engineer, mastering engineer
* Nkenge 1x – mixing engineer, mastering engineer
* The Legendary Traxster – mixing engineer, recording engineer

Notes

References

{{Authority control

2025 albums
2020s concept albums
2020s demo albums
Albums produced by Kanye West
Kanye West albums
Race-related controversies in music
Sampling controversies
Self-released albums
Visual albums
Works created using artificial intelligence