Kanye West's "Bully" Album Divides The Ye Fanbase After Streaming Release

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares
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Kanye West Bully Album Divides Ye Fanbase Streaming Release
Mar 16, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; American rapper Kanye West watches action between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics in the second quarter at the Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images
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Kanye West's "Bully" is finally out on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, and debates around A.I., sonic direction, and politics abound.

Kanye West has been through a lot of ups and downs in the 2020s decade, and they have all culminated into his new album, Bully. Following his antisemitism apologies, alleged reversion of A.I. vocals on the record, and recent concert announcements, we finally have the official version of the LP on streaming services.

In typical Ye fashion, though, the responses to this new project have been divisive to say the least. Some fans continue to scrutinize the allegedly eroded use of A.I. vocals here, with some skeptics still believing it came into play. Others expressed more critical perspectives on Kanye's vocal delivery, although other fans feel like he sounds rejuvenated.

As for the production side of things, this is what is usually the most consistent and compelling in any Ye album. Fans seem to agree regarding Bully, but there are some caveats. Some fans think the instrumentals are too bare, short, or vapid, whereas others found the atmospheric and more stripped-back approach on here to be very earnest, nostalgic, and engrossing.

Fans are still picking their favorite tracks from the LP, whether it's the Travis Scott-assisted "Father" or cuts like "All The Love" with André Troutman. It just came out, so we're sure these takes and discussions have a lot of time left to age, evolve, and settle.

Is James Blake On Bully?

Other fans have been discussing the news that one of Kanye West's Bully producers wants out. Via a message shared on external social media platforms, James Blake revealed that he asked for Ye and his team to remove his production credit from the closer "This One Here." He said that the officially released version of that song does not resemble what he worked on with Kanye years ago, and doesn't want to take undue credit.

Some fans are confused by this, but most of them are more surprised that this is about removing a credit, not adding one. After all, debacles like these are usually around the latter circumstance.

Fan Reactions

Nevertheless, early reactions to Kanye West's Bully don't seem to have changed much with this official streaming release. All in all, though, one thing is clear from most fan reactions: This is, at the very least, a first step towards redemption for Ye considering this decade's track record so far.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

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