After Ye revealed at his Vultures 2 event in China in late September that he’s dropping a brand new album, fans are waiting for more details. The new album is called Bully. The Chicago rapper dropped his joint albums Vultures 1 and Vultures 2 with Ty Dolla $ign earlier this year, so this upcoming effort will mark Ye’s first solo LP in over three years. As hip-hop lovers wait for Bully to officially drop, here’s everything we know about the project.
Ye Announces Album Title Bully
On Sept. 28, Ye announced during his Vultures 2 listening event at the Wuyuan River Stadium in Haikou, China that he was dropping an album called Bully.
“I got a new album coming out,” Ye told the audience in the clip, which can be viewed below. “The album’s called Bully.”
Some Ye fans who wrote about Bully on the music site Genius alleged that the album’s name takes admiration from film director Larry Clark’s 2001 film with the same name, which focuses on a group of teenagers who get back at their abusive friend by killing them. These claims have yet to be confirmed.
Although the album’s name wasn’t specified at the time, TMZ reported back in 2023 that Ye was working on a solo album and churned out 10 tracks while working on the Vultures series with Ty Dolla $ign.
Shortly after, producer Erick Sermon went on The Bootleg Kev podcast and revealed that the album was titled Y3. After the news about the album’s name surfaced, Ye personally messaged Genius on Instagram and revealed that it wasn’t accurate. “Ain’t no Y3 album,” he wrote.
The Cover Art
On Sept. 29, Ye went on his Instagram to show fans a glimpse of the potential artwork for Bully. The image seems to replicate an aerial view of the stage he performed on during his Vultures 2 listening event in China.
Fans speculated that he had also teased another concept for the artwork in Ye’s since-deleted Instagram post. The illustration shows the rapper walking on a path toward a swirl of lights. Neither album cover is confirmed.
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The Songs
Ye performed two new songs off Bully at his Vultures 2 listening event. The first record, “Beauty and the Beast,” finds him getting introspective over a soulful production.
“It’s been a long time comin’/Fresh new tides, I’m still runnin’,” he croons. “I still think about it every night and day to try to stay away, to keep my audience/Don’t take this disrespect, I’m sitting here trying to redirect.”
Another song called “Preacher Man” may appear on Bully as well. In the clip below, Ye raps along to the record over an R&B-tinged beat.
So far, “Beauty and the Beast” and “Preacher Man” haven’t been released on DSPs.
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More Album Details
According to journalist Touré, Ye has been working on the album alone abroad. The Chicago rapper is reportedly holed up in a hotel in Tokyo, Japan working on the project.
“It’s a concept album and he plans to be the only producer on it,” Touré recently revealed. “Traditionally, Kanye is the product of a team, there are producers helping him, there are writers helping him, he comes with the big ideas but there’s others in. Not this time. This time, Kanye is gonna make this pretty much by himself. A fresh chapter in his life because in Tokyo he can be who he wants to be.”
Album Release Date
No release date has been announced for the upcoming offering, which will be Ye’s third this year if it does come out in 2024. Fans are still waiting on Vultures 3, which also does not have a release date. With Ye’s track record, there’s no telling when either album will be released.
