Kanye West, now known as Ye, is back with his solid 12th solo studio album, Bully. 

The album was delayed a whopping eight times since its announcement in September 2024. 

Fans have been highly anticipating the album’s release, but there has been some controversy surrounding the authenticity of Ye’s work. Last June, Ye released three tracks from Bully, and fans were quick to pick up on the unfinished, A.I. sound of the lyrics and beats. 

The week of Bully’s release he created an Instagram post promising that there would be no A.I. on the finished album, showing he had realized his mistakes. His promise held true, as the 18-song, 42-minute album contains all original pieces with no traces of artificial intelligence. 

Ye kicks the album off strong with “King,” giving the feel that he is the king of rap who has made his rightful return to the game. He then follows up a few songs later with “Father,” which features Travis Scott. Scott’s verse completes the song nicely, and it is good to see him once again collaborating with Ye. 

Later in the album, Ye goes on a three-track streak of well crafted tracks. “Circles,” “Preacher Man,” and “Beauty and the Beast” stand out due to Ye’s vocals, samples, and overall vibes. 

Earlier versions of “Preacher Man” and “Beauty and the Beast” were among the tracks released last June that used A.I. Both of these songs have been completely redone, filled with more lively beats and vocals. 

This project stands up when compared to Ye’s other work, primarily because for a majority of the album the beats are laid back and Ye has taken some experimental liberties with most of these tracks. The songs are short and sweet, with the longest song, “All the Love,” being only roughly four minutes long. 

Overall, the album is solid and it is nice to see Ye still releasing music. He is once again currently at the top of the world charts, and it feels as though he intends to stick around for at least a little longer.