Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has released his new album 'Bully' on major streaming platforms following a YouTube livestream premiere. The 18-track project features artists including Travis Scott, Don Toliver and Peso Pluma. Producer James Blake requested his name be removed from credits on one track.
Ye debuted his 12th studio album 'Bully' via a YouTube livestream on March 27 and made it available on Spotify, Apple Music and other services early on March 28. The 18-song collection runs 42 minutes and includes contributions from Travis Scott on 'Father', Don Toliver on 'Circles', Peso Pluma on 'Last Breath', CeeLo Green on 'Bully' and Andre Troutman on 'All the Love' and 'White Lines'. Production credits list James Blake, 88-Keys and The Legendary Traxster, among others, on the album closer 'This One Here' alongside Ye, Don Toliver and Quentin Miller. However, Blake responded to a fan on Vault, stating, “The way I pitched his vocals and constructed the track from his freestyle is partially there, majorly peppered with other newer vocal takes etc. but the spirit of my actual production is mostly absent other than that.” He added, “My original version is a completely different production in spirit,” and clarified, “I’ve asked to be taken off the producer credits for now as I don’t want to take credit for other people’s work and this version isn’t what I created with Ye. It’s not personal!” Ye announced the tracklist earlier in the week and stated there was no AI used in its creation. The album arrives ahead of shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on April 1 and 3. Ye also shared a music video for 'Father', directed by his wife Bianca Censori. The single-camera clip is set in a minimalist church where surreal events unfold unnoticed by congregants: card tricks turn to flames, a knight on horseback precedes police arresting a nun, a UFO lands and a Michael Jackson lookalike sits in the back. Ye's chorus intones: “Bye-bye to my old self/ Wake up to the new me/ I used to be on Worldstar/ Now I’m making Newsweek/ I used to hang on the 9/ Now I bought two streets/ Cottage Grove to King Drive/ Yeah, this life is a movie.” This marks Ye's first album since antisemitic remarks and erratic posts, following a full-page apology ad in The Wall Street Journal. There, he wrote in January, “One of the difficult aspects of having bipolar type-1 are the disconnected moments — many of which I still cannot recall — that led to poor judgment and reckless behavior... I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment and meaningful change.”
