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).^[2] Ye offered the song "Preacher Man" to Drake, who declined, before incorporating it into Bully.^[3] In 2024, West collaborated with the American singer Ty Dolla Sign to release the collaborative albums Vultures 1 and Vultures 2 as ¥$.^[4] Vultures 1 received mixed reviews, while Vultures 2 was panned for being released in an unfinished state and its alleged use of artificial intelligence (AI).^[5][6] 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,^[7] though West later denied his story, messaging a fan account to state there was no album in development with the name.^[8]

Following the Vultures releases, record producer Digital Nas shared text messages from West indicating his intention to go into "full art studio mode".^[9] 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.^[10] During his performance at the Wuyuan River Stadium in Haikou, China after the release of Vultures 2 on September 28, West announced Bully,^[11] previewing "Beauty and the Beast" and "Preacher Man".^[12] He posted several previews on Instagram and his website over the next few days.^[11] 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."^[9][13][14]

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.^[9][15] According to Rolling Stone, they were able to confirm that Bully had finished recording before West's Wall Street Journal apology for antisemitic statements in January 2026.^[1]

On October 25, 2024, West made Bully available for pre-order on his Yeezy website in vinyl and CD formats, alongside a Bully themed merchandise collection.^[16] 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.^[17][18] 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.^[19]

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.^[20] 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.^[21] He said Bully was scheduled for release on June 15, coinciding with North's birthday.^[22][23] On February 9, he released "Beauty and the Beast" on his website.^[24] 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.^[25] He replied to a fan that he would turn it into a solo song. West's decision to cut "Melrose" likely stems from his anger over not being featured on Carti's third studio album, Music (2025).^[25]

West held a concert at Shanghai, China on July 12 in support of Bully, performing the previously released singles alongside older songs from his discography.^[26] 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.^[27] On January 30, West held a concert in Mexico City, Mexico, for the first time in nearly 20 years.^[28][29] 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.^[30] This marks West's first performance in the city since 2021.^[31] With over one million people applying in its pre-sale queue,^[32] on March 11, he announced another concert scheduled for April 1, with tickets going on sale on March 13.^[33] 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."^[34] On March 12, a video of a drone showcasing visuals to promote Bully at a Texas farm circulated online.^[35] Outside the United States, West booked concerts set to be held in India on March 29, the Netherlands on June 6, France on June 11, Italy on July 18, Spain on July 30, and Portugal on August 7.^[36]

Quick facts Directed by, Starring ...

Bully V1
Wordmark shown at the end of the film
Directed by	Kanye West
Starring	Saint West
Edited by	Hype Williams
Music by	Kanye West
Release date	March 18, 2025 (2025-03-18)
Running time	23 minutes (screening) 29 minutes (first cut) 45 minutes (second cut)
Country	United States
Language	English

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Bully V1 is accompanied by a black-and-white short film of the same name, directed by West and edited by Hype Williams.^[37] It stars West's son Saint,^[38][39] 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.^[38] The album plays over the footage,^[39] the first cut of which lasts for 29 minutes; a later cut runs for 45 minutes.^[38] According to Rolling Stone's Jayson Buford, Saint represents West, "who envisions himself as a martyr being attacked by all sides".^[40] However, the film's tone is ridiculous and comedic,^[40] with GQ's Paul Thompson writing that the visuals feature "a playfulness [and] generosity" reflected in the music.^[41]

Musical style

See also: List of Kanye West samples and sampling disputes

Billboard's Gil Kaufman writes that sonically, Bully resembles West's "most experimental, creatively lauded period" from the late 2000s, specifically 808s & Heartbreak (2008) and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010).^[39] Kaufman described the songs as "spare, soul-flecked compositions", featuring West crooning with vocals processed through Auto-Tune.^[39] West mostly sings instead of rapping,^[41] and according to him, half of his vocals are AI-generated deepfakes.^[44] Thompson writes that West's use of AI is not immediately obvious, since "[his] vocals for the most part function as texture rather than the songs' engine".^[41] He said it becomes clear about halfway through the album due to the vocals' resemblance to those in 808s & Heartbreak.^[41]

"White Lines"

Songs such as "White Lines" feature heavy interpolations of other songs. In this instance, the melody from "(They Long to Be) Close to You" is lifted, but the lyrics are altered

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Along with the vocals, Bully also employs AI software in its production. In his February 2025 interview with Justin Laboy, West championed the benefits of AI stem separation, explaining that it can separate the vocals, bassline, or drums from any song. When West sends a song or sample to his engineers, he replies with, for example, "[John Scott], AI."^[45] West had previously used AI separation technology on his collaboration with Kano Computing, the Stem Player.^[46]

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 Mamá" (1996) by Poncho Sanchez, and "Soleil Soleil" (2020) by Pomme are sampled or interpolated. One track, "Losing Your Mind",^[c] features an artificial intelligence deepfake cover of the Can song "Vitamin C" (1972),^[47] while "Bully" samples The Simpsons character Nelson Muntz's "ha ha!" catchphrase.^[48] MusicTech and Variety noted that many of these appeared to be uncleared.^[47][48] Pomme had previously denied West permission to sample "Soleil Soleil", citing disagreements with his political views.^[49]

On October 23, 2024, West posted Bully's cover, shot by the Japanese photographer Daidō Moriyama, on Instagram.^[22] It features a black-and-white image of his son Saint West wearing titanium grills, similar to those West wore from January 2024^[66] to around November 2025. West said the title Bully was a reference to Saint, who he observed kicking a kid for being "weak".^[23][67]

Speaking on the photoshoot process, grills designer Omar Alvarado said:

The intensity of this project was unforgettable. Nearly everything that could go wrong did, which made the manufacturing process a real test of skill and resilience. But seeing the team and I overcome every obstacle to deliver was an amazing feeling.^[68]

Bully V1 received overall positive reviews from music critics.^[69] Billboard's 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.^[53] Thompson described the demo as not just his best collection of beats in more than a decade, but provides a "rich, warm, and optimistic record" in a way that feels secluded from the internet, world, and even Ye.^[41] Thompson favorably compared its production to West's singles "Only One" (2014) and "FourFiveSeconds" (2015).^[41] Frazier Tharpe of GQ commented on the "admittedly very good production" while discussing the rumored 2025 Jay-Z album.^[70] The Breakfast Club's 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."^[69]

Jayson Buford of Rolling Stone described Bully V1 as West's best album since The Life of Pablo (2016), "show[ing] glimmers of the artist he once was."^[40] He felt it indicated that West was still capable of quality work, but also found it his first boring album and not good enough to restore his reputation. In particular, he found the track "Bully" to suffer from "nonsensical" lyricism.^[40] Billboard's Kyle Dennis criticized Bully V1's curation and sequencing, saying of West's albums, "I haven't had a favorable listening experience top-to-bottom in quite some time."^[69]

All tracks are produced by Kanye West, except where noted.^[71]

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[71]

• Kanye West – programming (all tracks)
• The Legendary Traxster – recording (1–2, 13), mixing (1–2, 13)
• John Scott – bass guitar (1–3), recording (1–3, 13) mixing (1–3, 13), mastering (1, 3)
• Nkenge 1x – bass guitar (13), programming (13), recording (3) mixing (2–3, 13), mastering (1–3, 13)
• Josh Schuback – recording (1–3, 13), mixing (1–3, 13), mastering (1, 3)
• Hassan Khaffaf – programming (12), mixing (12), mastering (12)