Bully is the upcoming eleventh studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It is expected to be released in late 2024 or 2025, and will be West's first solo album since Donda (2021). Bully was announced during a Vultures 2 listening event in Haikou, China, where the songs "Beauty and the Beast" and "Preacher Man" (which are expected to feature on Bully) were previewed. Bully is allegedly planned to be a concept album solely produced by West.
| Bully | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Label | YZY | |||
| Producer | Kanye West | |||
| Kanye West chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and recording
editPrior in 2024, West released two collaborative albums with the American musician Ty Dolla Sign, Vultures 1 and Vultures 2. Both albums received mixed reviews from critics, with Vultures 2 criticized for being released in an unfinished state. Following their release, record producer and musician Digital Nas shared text messages from West indicating his intention to go into "full art studio mode".[1] On September 26, West posted a video on Instagram showing himself using an ASR-10 keyboard to create "Preacher Man", a song previously previewed at listening events.[2]
During a Vultures 2 event on September 28 in Haikou, West announced he was working on a new album titled Bully. He previewed the tracks "Beauty and the Beast" and "Preacher Man", stating both were intended for the album. Both of the tracks were praised for their soulful production. [3] He continued to post several previews of the two tracks on Instagram and his YZY website in the following days and posting another video of him producing another track allegedly called “Oh my hoodie, my hoodie”.[4] The American music journalist Touré revealed West was living in Tokyo and that Bully would be a concept album inspired by his solitude, with West as its sole producer: "Traditionally, [West] is the product of a team—there are producers [and] writers helping him; he comes with the big ideas but there's others involved. [West] is gonna make [Bully] pretty much by himself. A fresh chapter in his life because in Tokyo he can be who he wants to be."[1][5]
On October 23, West posted the album's cover on Instagram, stating it was shot by the Japanese photographer Daidō Moriyama. The cover features a black-and-white image of West's son Saint wearing titanium grills, similar to those West has worn since early 2024.[6] On October 25, West released a merchandise collection for Bully and made the album available for physical pre-order.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b Hellerbach, Miki (October 24, 2024). "Kanye West's New Album 'Bully:' Here's Everything We Know". Complex. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ^ Moore, Sam (September 24, 2024). "Kanye West Flexes Production Chops As He Cooks Up New Soul-Sampling Song". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Trent (September 28, 2024). "Ye Announces New Album Bully and Previews New Song". XXL. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ^ Gilbert, Natalee (October 14, 2024). "Ye's Bully Album - Here's Everything We Know". XXL. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ^ Saponara, Michael (October 23, 2024). "Ye Reveals 'Bully' Album Cover Art". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ^ DX Staff (October 23, 2024). "Kanye West Reveals 'Bully' Album Cover Seemingly Featuring His Son Saint". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ^ Li, Joyce (October 25, 2024). "Ye Launches New Merch Collection for Upcoming Album 'Bully'". Hypebeast. Retrieved October 25, 2024.