Over the weekend, Kanye West dropped his long-awaited twelfth studio album, BULLY. While the project has earned mixed reviews from listeners, it was quick to become a commercial success. According to Hip Hop All Day, it's even now charted at No. 1 on Apple Music in more countries than any other rap album released this year. That record was previously held by J. Cole's The Fall-Off, his seventh and possibly final LP.
BULLY was streamed on Spotify over 30 million times in its first day, marking the strongest hip-hop debut of 2026 so far. It's expected to move between 250K and 275K album-equivalent units in its first week, with 100K coming from pure sales.
Ye previewed BULLY at a listening party in Los Angeles shortly before the release. It features Travis Scott, Don Toliver, Nine Vicious, CeeLo Green, Ty Dolla $ign, André Troutman, and more.
Kanye West Wireless Festival
New music isn't all that Ye is getting attention for these days, however. Earlier this week, it was also announced that the Chicago rapper will be headlining all three days of London's Wireless Festival in July. It will be his first performance in the UK in over a decade, and tickets go on sale on April 8. Additional performers will be announced in the coming months.
The release of Bully comes just weeks after Ye took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal to apologize for his problematic past. He attributed his hateful tirades to his bipolar disorder, revealing that he's since gotten professional help.
"I lost touch with reality," he admitted. "Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret."
