Kanye West has unveiled his long-delayed album Bully, shortly after walking back comments that a significant portion of the project was created using AI.
The controversial artist shared the album live on YouTube on Friday (27 March), but at the time of writing, it had not been released to streaming services such as Spotify or Apple Music.
West first started teasing Bully in September 2024, a month after releasing his previous record, Vultures 2. Songs such as “Preacher Man” and “Beauty and the Beast” have been played on Instagram and at live shows.
On the YouTube stream, Bully is accompanied by a black-and-white short film of the same name, directed by West and starring his son, Saint, fending off aggressors in a boxing ring. West streamed the full album live on the platform shortly after midnight in the US. But it has since been unlisted from the site, meaning it can only be accessed by those with a direct link to the video.
Bully features collaborations with Travis Scott, Nine Vicious, Ty Dolla $ign and Ceelo Green, while the rapper – known for taking samples from classic songs and increasing their pitch – borrows a number of snippets from classic hits for album. The Supremes’ 1958 hit “You Can’t Hurry Love” features on West’s “I Can’t Wait”, while West samples Stevie Wonder’s cover of The Carpenters’ “Close To You” on “White Lines”, featuring Andre Troutman.
Other samples include “To You With Love” by The Moments on “Preacher Man”, Jonah Thompson’s song “Get Involved” on “Sisters and Brothers” and The Mad Lads’ 1966 track “Don’t Have To Shop Around” which is sampled on “Beauty and the Beast”.
Towards the end of the livestream, West began playing a number of his previous hits and tracks from other artists – beginning with his 2010 smash “Runaway” followed by Liverpudlian rapper EsDeeKid’s “4 Raws”. He also played Don Toliver’s track “Excavator” and a short snippet of his own 2013 single “Bound 2”.
Earlier in March, West hit back at claims that he used artificial intelligence to create Bully. The rapper shared the album’s track list on X on Wednesday (25 March) along with the caption: “BULLY ON THE WAY NO AI.” It came after he said in an interview with Justin LaBoy last year, where he said that he incorporated AI into his writing and recording “the same way I incorporated Auto-Tune”, adding: “It’s a tool, not a replacement.”
In January, West denied claims that an apology letter he published in the Wall Street Journal, following his erratic behaviour from the past few years, was a calculated move ahead of the release of Bully.
“It’s my understanding that I was in the top 10 most listened-to artists overall in the US on Spotify in 2025, and last week and most days as well. My upcoming album, Bully, is currently one of the most anticipated pre-saves of any album on Spotify too,” the rapper said in an email to Vanity Fair.
“My 2007 album, Graduation, was also the most listened-to and streamed hip-hop album of 2025. This, for me, as evidenced by the letter, isn’t about reviving my commerciality. This is because these remorseful feelings were so heavy on my heart and weighing on my spirit.”
He continued by explaining that he felt an apology was owed to both the Jewish and the Black community, following a series of antisemitic rants posted to his social media accounts.
“I look at wreckage of my episode and realize that this isn’t who I am. As a public figure, so many people follow and listen to my every word,” he said. “It’s important that they realize and understand what side of history that I want to stand on. And that is one of love and positivity.”
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