Bully (album)

According to producer Mike Dean, 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 use of artificial intelligence (AI). Producer Erick Sermon said that West had been working on a solo album, titled Y3, before putting it aside to work on Vultures. Sermon claimed he contributed to it during 2023, though West later denied his story, messaging a fan account to state there was no album in development with the name. ==Production==

Following the Vultures releases, 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 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, 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. He further stated it was common for other producers and writers to help West while he came up with the overall concept for previous albums, calling this period a "fresh chapter in his life" as "he can be who he wants to be". Though Touré claimed that West worked on Bully by himself and effectively lived in isolation, West invited former collaborators Don Toliver and Baby Keem to Tokyo the same month as the report, and mentioned on a April 2025 livestream with Digital Nas that the album featured co-writing from Quentin Miller, Ty Dolla Sign, Toliver, Malik Yusef, and Billy Walsh. West held a recording session with frequent collaborator Travis Scott on November 11, where the two recorded and produced "Father" with Che Pope and Jahaan Sweet. According to Rolling Stone, they were able to confirm that Bully had finished recording prior to West's Wall Street Journal apology for antisemitic statements in January 2026. ==Composition==

Musical style Billboard Gil Kaufman writes that sonically, Bully V1 resembled West's "most experimental, creatively lauded period" from the late 2000s, specifically 808s & Heartbreak (2008) and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). 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 Mama" (1996) by Poncho Sanchez, and "Soleil Soleil" (2020) by Pomme are sampled or interpolated. One track (which didn't make the final tracklist, but remains released as part of the second June 2025 EP), "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 "ha ha!" catchphrase. MusicTech and Variety noted that many of these appeared to be uncleared. Tracks Original physical edition Bully's physical version opens with the track "Preacher Man", featuring minimalist production and raps about celebrity. "I Can't Wait" samples "You Can't Hurry Love" by the Supremes as Diana Ross's voice highlights through the chorus while West sings allusions about shipping stress to UPS and going "Shaq mode". Based off the neurochemical serotonin, "Bully" portrays romantic yearning through intoxicated and disconnected imagery. The seventh track, "All the Love", opens with the Arabic vocal track "Fayek Alaya" by Fairuz, as André Troutman's talk box uses the same phrase into a "slippery and warm" effect resembling the "alien-gospel mood" of Yeezus (2013) interludes. "This One Here" features heavy use of ad-libs in its structure, with the chant "Come on, it's go time" repeating continuously in the background. Reminiscent of breakup songs, "Highs and Lows" features an eight-bar verse where West pleads to not be let go by a lover, claiming that "before I break your heart, I'll have a heart attack". The tenth track, exclusive to the physical edition, "Mission Control", highlights a devotional that repeats three times: "Holy, holy art thou, I am free because you were bound". The outro features vocals from West's cousin, the Wrldfms Tony Williams, who sings with a similar sentiment. "Circles" contains two micro-verses and a one-word chorus, sung over a beat sampled from "Huit Octobre 1971" by Cortex. ==Synopsis==

}} Bully V1 is accompanied by a black-and-white short film of the same name, directed by West and edited by Hype Williams. It stars West's son Saint who stands in a wrestling ring wielding a toy mallet and fends off aggressors portrayed by Japanese professional wrestlers Yoh, Toru Yano, Tiger Mask, and El Desperado. However, the film's tone is comedic, Bully V1 contains nine or ten songs, depending on the version. The track listing differs across each version as well. "Melrose", featuring West's frequent collaborators Playboi Carti and Ty Dolla Sign, is the tenth and final track on the version West released on X but is absent from the YouTube upload. ==Promotion==

On October 25, 2024, West made Bully available for pre-order on his website, Yeezy, in vinyl and CD formats, alongside a Bully themed merchandise collection, including t-shirts with the album cover on the front, an image from the short film and a cap with "Bully" written in Japanese. He previewed new songs while DJing at the 1 Oak club in Tokyo on January 19, 2025, with two being remixes of Future's "Lil Demon" (2024) and "Magic Don Juan" and another being an untitled track. After appearing with his wife Bianca Censori at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on February 3, West played more songs at the event's after party, including one with a chorus from his daughter, North. In a February 2025 interview with Justin LaBoy, West said Bully would feature AI vocals. To demonstrate its capabilities, he ran Lil RT's debut single "60 Miles" through a voice model meant to mimic himself, which Lil RT's mother approved of despite never being informed that West would use her son's vocals. West's choice to use AI was criticized, which he responded to by comparing it 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, coinciding with 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. On January 3, 2026, the Yeezy website was updated with preorder options for the album including multi-colored vinyl, CD, cassette, and bundles; the cassette and CD images contained the track listing. On January 30, West held a concert in Mexico City, Mexico, for the first time in nearly 20 years. On March 9, West announced a one-night concert at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles scheduled for April 3, with tickets going on sale on March 11. This marks West's first performance in the city since 2021. With over one million people applying in its pre-sale queue, on March 11, he announced another concert scheduled for April 1, with tickets going on sale on March 13. People ordering pre-sale for tickets were required to pre-save Bully and that "a few lucky pre-registrants will be selected to receive free tickets". On March 12, a video of a drone showcasing visuals to promote Bully at a Texas farm circulated online. On March 24, West announced three listening experiences to support the album worldwide, all set to take place on March 26, though they were soon postponed. Outside the United States, West booked concerts set to be held in India on May 23, Turkey on May 30, the Netherlands on June 6 and 8, Albania on July 11, Italy on July 18, Spain on July 30, Portugal on August 7, and France. On March 26, West premiered Bully at a listening party at WePlay studios in Inglewood, California. "Father", a collaboration with Travis Scott, was released as the lead single from Bully alongside the album's release on March 28 upon the release of its official music video. West was planned to headline Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park, London, from July 10-12; on April 7, after Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with other British politicians, condemned West's planned appearances, the Home Office announced that West was blocked from visiting the United Kingdom. Wireless later announced the cancellation of the entire festival for 2026. ==Release==

Bully V1 West initially announced a release date of June 15, 2025, coinciding with the 12th birthday of his daughter, North West. They were hosted through the website Frame.io. West stated the album was a work in progress and expressed regret for using AI, saying he had grown to hate it. West intended 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 a "screening version", a "post Hype version", and a "post post Hype version". Media publications noted track list differences across the versions. The screening version does not feature "Melrose", which is the last song on others. West acknowledged his original pre-order for the album, saying that "We sold vinyl, though. We just haven't made them yet. That shit 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", being the songs "Highs and Lows", "Beauty and the Beast", "Preacher Man", "Damn", and "White Lines". Afterwards, West allegedly told 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 released "Preacher Man", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Damn" as promotional singles to streaming platforms as a 3-track Bully EP. On June 27, West uploaded a second EP to streaming services, containing the promotional singles "Last Breath" and "Losing Your Mind". After being scheduled for release on July 25, Bully was delayed to be released on September 26 a week prior to its intended release. The album was once again delayed on September 22, being rescheduled to November 7. On November 3, West once again delayed the release to December 12. Once again on December 8, West delayed the release to January 30, 2026. On January 3, the Yeezy website was updated with preorder options including multi-colored vinyl, CD, cassette, and bundles. On March 24, a vinyl rip of Bully leaked online, still containing AI vocals. Following negative reception from fans, West affiliate Joseph Karre defended the album, stating that the timeline will look "a lot different on Friday". The same day, West posted a new tracklist for the album, promising it would feature "no AI". It featured six additional tracks, with "Highs and Lows" and "Mission Control" later being appended for a total of eight new tracks. During the last seconds of the ad, a snippet of "Father", a newly added track, West also hosted a professional wrestling exhibition during the listening party, involving independent wrestlers including A.M.B., Terry Yaki, and Jay Lucas, which took place in Atlanta. Hours after its release, West removed the livestream from public view on YouTube. On March 28, a day after its intended release, the album was made available on streaming services, with eighteen tracks, omitting "Mission Control" (which became a physical exclusive track) and "Outside" (which was never previewed). The English musician James Blake received a production credit upon the album's release for his work on "This One Here", which stems from an unreleased collaborative album between him and West named War from 2022. Blake later released a statement asking for his credit to be removed, stating that while his structural and pitching contributions remained, he felt the released song deviated too much from his initial version and did not want credit for someone else's work. On April 5, Gamma officially confirmed that a deluxe edition was "on the way" in an Instagram story post which boasted the album's commercial performance. ==Artwork and title==

On October23, 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 wore at the time. West later revealed that the title Bully was a reference to Saint, who he observed kicking a kid for being "weak". Speaking on the photo shoot process, grills designer Omar Alvarado said: ==Reception==

Bully V1 Bully V1 received overall positive reviews from music critics. Billboard Michael Saponara found that those willing to overlook West's behavior enjoyed Bully V1 and praised it as evocative of his 2000s work, such as 808s & Heartbreak. The Breakfast Club Nyla Symone said she liked the Bully V1 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". Eddy "Precise" Lamarre of Rolling Out gave the album a highly positive review, describing it as a reset for West's career. Similarly, Esquire's Rudra Mulmule viewed the album as "surprisingly restrained" in controversy, noting the "tension between chaos and introspection". Peter McGoran of Hot Press gave a positive review at the album's listening party, calling the album West's "first good album in 10 years". McGoran praised its reflective nature, describing its sound as "a return to the old Kanye". In a mixed review, Preezy Brown of Rolling Stone highlighted several tracks as standouts, commending "Sisters and Brothers", "Father", "King", "Preacher Man", "All the Love", and "I Can't Wait" as the album's six best songs, describing the release as a "highly anticipated return". However, he otherwise described the album as "lifeless overall", with "clean, easily traceable" lyrics. Similarly, Jeff Ihaza from the same magazine praised the album's music as "easily some of the best-sounding Kanye has made in years", while criticizing its emotionally empty quality. Ihaza singled out several tracks, further describing the album's overall sound as "like decades of his music fed into a computer program". Edward Bowser of Soul in Stereo gave the album a mixed-positive review, complimenting its production as West's best in years while questioning its lyrics. Peter A. Berry of Complex criticized the album as a "spacey cloud of glossy hollowness", writing that it imitates older works from West, while noting the album's "mild traces of Yeezy greatness". In a review by Pitchfork, Kieran Press-Reynolds rated the album a 3.4/10, describing it as underwritten, "a cheap hit of retro-Kanye" and criticizing the album's mixing. Fan response Similar to the album's critical reception, fan responses were mixed. Following the leak of an earlier vinyl-ripped version on March 24, some fans reacted negatively. Several tweets criticized the version, with HotNewHipHop reporting one user deeming it "one of the worst albums [they've] heard." The album's listening party received mixed reactions among West's fan base. Zachary Horvath of HotNewHipHop noted that the event "caus[ed] uncertainty amongst fans," stating that "reactions have ranged from pure eagerness to uncertainty." Nine Vicious' inclusion on the album likewise prompted criticism from some fans. Internet personality Kai Cenat reacted positively to the album, dubbing it a "banger." ''Pitchfork's take on Bully was criticized by some fans, who regarded the publication as irrelevant. Jordan Rose of Complex'' conducted street interviews with fans regarding the album, receiving a largely positive response. ==Commercial performance==

Bully debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 behind BTS' Arirang for the week of April 2, 2026, with a reported 152,000 album-equivalent units, consisting of 96,000 streaming units equivalent to 98.43 million on-demand streams and 56,000 album sales. and Independent Albums charts. Bully appeared in three UK charts, debuting at number three on the main Albums chart, number two on R&B Albums, and number eight on Independent Albums. In Japan, the album appeared in four of its charts, debuting at number three on Dance & Soul Albums, number 16 on Western Albums, number 33 on Combined Albums, and number 75 on Hot Albums charts. In Australia, the album debuted at number three on the Albums chart and topped the Hip-Hop/R&B Albums chart. Elsewhere, Bully debuted at number two in Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Lithuania, Portugal, and Poland; number three in Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland; and number four in Austria and Belgium (Flanders). The album also debuted at the top ten in Italy and Spain, as well as the top twenty in Belgium (Wallonia), Finland, France, and Scotland. ==Track listing==

Adapted from Apple Music. Notes • indicates a vocal producer. • indicates someone credited as both a primary and vocal producer (West is credited as both on all tracks). • Ahead of the release, West released an EP including "Preacher Man", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Damn" on June 20, 2025, along with "Last Breath" and "Losing Your Mind" on June 27, 2025. • Don Toliver's feature on "Circles" was replaced on April 1, 2026, although his vocals are still present on current physical editions. His remaining credits were removed at an undocumented date. • James Blake's credits on "This One Here" were removed at an undocumented date upon his request. Sample credits • "Father" contains samples of "Heavenly Father, You've Been Good", performed by Johnnie Frierson. • "All the Love" contains samples of "Fayek Alaya", written by Assi Rahbani and Mansour Rahbani, as performed by Fairuz. • "Whatever Works" contains samples of "Don't Wonder Why", as performed by Cissy Houston. • "Mama's Favorite" contains samples of Donda West's voice from the documentary series Jeen-Yuhs. • "I Can't Wait" contains interpolations of "You Can't Hurry Love", written by Holland–Dozier–Holland, as performed by the Supremes. • "Bully" contains interpolations of "Mujhe Maar Daalo", written by Laxmikant–Pyarelal and Rajendra Krishan, as performed by Asha Bhosle. • "Preacher Man" contains samples of "To You with Love", written by Al Goodman, Sharon Sieger, and Tyrone Johnson, as performed by the Moments. • "White Lines" contains interpolations of "(They Long to Be) Close to You", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, as performed by Stevie Wonder. and "Bésame Mama", written by Ramón Santamaría, as performed by Poncho Sanchez. • "Losing Your Mind" contains elements of "Vitamin C", written by Holger Schüring, Irmin Schmidt, Jaki Liebezeit, Kenji Suzuki, and Michael Karoli, as performed by Can. ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from Apple Music. Musicians • The Legendary Traxster – piano (9–10), synthesizer (9) • Shin Fujii – bass guitar, electric guitar (9), guitar (10, 12) • Yuma Yamaguchi – piano (9) • Teppei Kawakami – trumpet (9) • Kanade Shishiuchi – trombone (9) • Mai Ohtani – violin, viola (9–10) • Masabumi Sekiguchi – cello (9) • 1srael – background vocals (9), piano, bass guitar (11), effects (12) • FutureSelf – background vocals (9, 11), guitar (11) • Harmoni Mathis – background vocals (9) • Nkenge 1x – percussion (10), bass guitar (10), synthesizer (12–13) • Takashi Fukuoka – percussion (12) • Kanye West – vocoder (12) • Kyle Reith – vocoder (12) • Brayla – background vocals (12–13) • 88-Keys – drums (13) • Jamil – bass guitar (13) • John Scott – bass guitar (14–15, 17) Engineers • Kanye West – recording (14–16) • Hassan Khaffaf – mixing (16), mastering (16) • Nkenge 1x – recording (4, 9–13, 17–18), mixing (4, 9–13, 15, 17–18), mastering (4, 9–15, 17–18) • John Scott – recording (9–15, 17–18), mixing (9–15, 17–18), mastering (17) • John Schuback – recording (9–15, 17–18), mixing (9–15, 17–18), mastering (17) • The Legendary Traxster – recording (14–15), mixing (14–15) ==Charts==