Kanye West announces new album ‘Bully’
Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, has unveiled plans for a new album, set to be his first new solo record since 2021’s Donda. During a live show at Wuyuan River Stadium in Haikou, China, Ye announced the album, to be titled Bully, alongside a new single, ‘Beauty and the Beast’.
The announcement came towards the end of Ye’s performance in Haikou, with the rapper telling the crowd, “I got a new album coming out.”
He then added, “The album’s called Bully, and this song is called ‘Beauty and the Beast,’” before erupting into the new track, which sees Ye rapping over a gentle, simplistic beat.
Some of the lyrics to the new song include, “I still think about it every night and day to try to stay away, to keep my audience. Don’t take this disrespect, I’m sitting here trying to redirect.” Given the experiences – both public and private – that Ye has gone through in recent years, it is not incredibly difficult to figure out the subtext of those lyrics.
Although the announcement has been the cause of excitement for many of Ye’s fans, Bully does not yet have an official release date. In fact, fans have virtually no information on the upcoming album other than its title and ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Perhaps it is better this way, as West’s most recent project – Vultures I and II, created alongside Ty Dolla Sign – were plagued by delays, causing them both to be released months after their intended date.
Also combating the growing hype around Bully is Ye’s regular collaborator Mike Dean took to social media to denounce the new track, calling ‘Beauty and the Beast’ a “Donda leftover”. If this comment is to be believed, it would suggest that Ye is recycling unused songs from his 2021 album, which was not particularly noteworthy in itself.
Shortly after the Haikou show, Ye made a rare post to his Instagram, sharing a photo from the concert along with the caption “BULLY”. Although this post was soon removed, it was reposted this morning, with an image of a lone figure looking up to a light in the sky – which could be theorised as being album cover art for the new record.
Given the cryptic and unpredictable nature of Ye, it is unclear if or when more details surrounding Bully will be released, with regard to release date, album art, etc. However, his recent political controversies – including when Ye openly praised Adolf Hitler and a made a deluge of heinous anti-semitic remarks – have expectedly overshadowed his musical output in recent years.