Preacher Man (Kanye West song)

While recording his collaborative album Vultures 1 (2024) with American singer Ty Dolla Sign, West began working with songwriter Quentin Miller in 2023. The two went on to co-write "Preacher Man" together in 2024, with Miller also contributing lyrics to the Bully tracks "Highs and Lows", "I Can't Wait", and "This One Here". West later discussed Miller's writing in a February 2025 interview with Justin Laboy, praising how he never felt the need to rewrite his lines. Before becoming part of the album, West offered the song to Canadian rapper Drake, who he quoted as rejecting it under the guise of not wanting to "spoil [West's] dreams". "Preacher Man" was first played during West's show at Haikou's Wuyuan River Stadium on September 15, 2024, a destination on his Vultures 2 Listening Experience tour. Eleven days later, West posted a video on Instagram showing himself using the ASR-10 keyboard to create the song's instrumental. West would once again preview the track during his second performance at the stadium on September 28, where he debuted "Beauty and the Beast" and announced the album's title. ==Composition==

Musically, "Preacher Man" features minimalist production, solely using an edited sample of "To You With Love" by the Moments. In its lyrics, West criticizes those who oppose him in a sneering, defiant tone, including people whom he perceives to have betrayed or extorted him. At one point, he also calls out a woman for hating sports but still sitting at courtside seats during such events and raps "I hate that God didn't make a couple more of me". ==Critical reception==

The song received generally positive reviews. Vibe's Preezy Brown ranked it third among the 18 Bully tracks, writing "Balancing tension and swagger, 'Preacher Man' is both engaging and effortless, demonstrating Ye's ability to fuse narrative wit with addictive rhythm." Peter A. Berry of Complex stated the song "features a nice blend of charisma and cinema." Reviewing Bully for Slant Magazine, Paul Attard cited "Preacher Man" as among the tracks that are "ingeniously incorporating dusty soul samples and strong melodies", but are "so tidy that they can't help but read like West is punching well below his musical weight class." Eddy "Precise" Lamarre of Rolling Out commented that the song's line ''This path I don't recommend "lands because it feels honest." Jeff Ihaza of Rolling Stone'' remarked the song "takes Ye's flair for cinematics" and "fires on all cylinders." Aron A. of HotNewHipHop opined that the song's production "made the album feel promising." Kieran Press-Reynolds of Pitchfork highlighted the transition in the first passage from a voice resembling AI-generated vocals to a more natural-sounding voice, describing it as an "interesting effect", "Especially because it leads into some of the most traditionally cocksure Ye lyrics on Bully". Billboard's Michael Saponara placed it at number 11 in his ranking of the 18 songs from Bully. == Personnel ==

Credits adapted from Tidal. • Kanye West – programming, vocal production • John Scott – bass guitar, recording, mixing, mastering • Josh Schuback – recording, mixing, mastering • Nkenge 1x – mastering • The Legendary Traxster – recording, mixing ==Charts==