Kanye West provides update on new album amid sexual assault claims
Last month, Kanye West announced that he would be releasing a new album called Bully. Now, he has given an update about the highly anticipated project. Taking to Instagram on October 15th, the controversial producer and emcee shared audio of a new track entitled, ‘Beauty And The Beast’.
The post specified that the audio was live from Haikou, suggesting that it was recorded at his Vultures Listening Experience last month at Wuyuan River Stadium in Haikou, China. However, he also noted that the track was updated in Tokyo.
In the post he assured fans that Bully is “on the way.” West is going to be the only producer on the entire album, which would make it the first project he has made entirely on his own since the release of his iconic debut album, College Dropout, 20 years ago in 2004.
Journalist and podcast host Touré has insisted that the producer now resides in Japan and is there working on the album. Bully is set to be the artist’s first solo project since 2020’s Donda.
In a video uploaded to Instagram, Touré unveiled, “Kanye is now living in Tokyo and living in a hotel hard at work on his next album Bully. He’s recording the album in the hotel room. Like, all the machines are set up in the hotel room.”
The journalist then delved into more detail about the upcoming album, stating, “It’s a concept album, and he plans to be the only producer on it. Traditionally, Kanye is the product of a team. There are producers helping him, there are writers helping him, he comes with the big ideas, but there’s others in.”
He added, “Not this time. This time, Kanye is gonna make this pretty much by himself. A fresh chapter in his life because in Tokyo, he can be who he wants to be.” Touré added a more in-depth analysis of the album on his Substack, writing, “He’s pulling from an eclectic pool. He’s traveled the world a lot so he’s aware of a lot more music than probably ever before. So I think sound-wise, it’s probably varied. But in a Kanye-esque form.”
He also noted, “This album is 100% him. They meant it’s pretty much made by Kanye alone. He’s producing everything 100% himself. This will be 100% Kanye West, which it hasn’t been in many, many years.
Touré, who has interviewed Kanye in the past, most notably in 2004 for Rolling Stone, cited an unnamed individual who is extremely close to the rap legend as his primary source. The latest audio was uploaded for fans despite the fact that West currently faces a lawsuit for allegedly drugging and raping his former assistant Lauren Pisciotta at a Diddy party.