Bully (album)

Bully is the twelfth studio album by the American rapper and record producer Kanye West. It was released through YZY and Gamma on March 28, 2026. Guest appearances include Travis Scott, André Troutman, Nine Vicious, CeeLo Green, and Peso Pluma; a deluxe edition, released on June 19, adds Lauryn Hill, Don Toliver, and the Wrldfms Tony Williams. Production was mainly handled by West, Troutman, the Legendary Traxster, Nkenge 1x, and 88-Keys, with contributions from various others. West began working on Bully after the release of Vultures 1 and Vultures 2 (2024), and announced it in September 2024. He surprise released multiple work-in-progress versions via X on March 18, 2025, accompanied by the Bully V1 short film, directed by West and edited by Hype Williams. It stars West's son, Saint, who fights New Japan Pro-Wrestling wrestlers with a toy mallet. Following Bully V1, West delayed the album several times while promoting it with two extended play previews in June 2025. In March 2026, he released the album on physical formats. Shortly after, he premiered it at a listening party in Inglewood livestreamed on YouTube, which was then removed. Hours later, Bully was released to streaming services with a different tracklist, along with the music video for "Father". Sonically, Bully extensively relies on sampling and interpolations, and West mostly sings instead of rapping. The album features industrial-based production and tracks reminiscent of West's early work, with the lyrics centered on grief, isolation, ego, detachment, and emotional fatigue. Most of West's vocals in the Bully V1 and physical releases were artificial intelligence-generated audio deepfakes. West re-recorded most lyrics with his own vocals for the final release. He updated the mixing for the deluxe edition. Bully polarized critics, who praised the production but were divided over whether it was a return to form for...