KANYE WEST - Bully

The time is now, right now

This is the hour, this is the new dawn, this is the new day

Now is the time, for nature and all her glory have named you her king

She has named you the king

King, king, king

Named you the king

Kanye West's much-awaited return opens with words from Duke Edwards, taken from "Man: Don't Cry Baby – Why? – Reach for a Star." More than a sample, though, it functions as a mere mission statement for the new chapter embarked upon by the Atlanta rapper, one in which the imperative is to tone things down, as underlined by his recent apology for the antisemitic outbursts he's indulged in over the past few years.

So we find ourselves before a repentant, decidedly less brash Kanye. Yet still a King, regardless. Because for someone like West, stepping back could never mean stepping away from the hip-hop galaxy, which remains his kingdom no matter what, and no amount of madness, in his view, can put that crown in question.

"Bully" thus shows us a "new" Kanye. A man partly rediscovered, at last aware of the anarchic eccentricities that had effectively sidelined him for far too long, even on streaming platforms. There's also the figure of a father trying to show his son Saint the right path, after the boy became the center of an unfortunate incident, kicking another child he deemed "weak." That justification sparked no small controversy in the States, but it goes a long way toward explaining the seemingly redeemed outlook of a musician who spent too long lost in a frightening void, amid pro-Nazi proclamations and provocative outings alongside his wife Bianca Censori, who also played a central artistic role on the album, starting with directing the video for "Father," the duet single with Travis Scott.

While "Bully" starts out with some unexpected shifts in perspective, musically it plays like a step backward. The brisk "This A Must" sounds like a B-side from Kanye's brighter past, while the aforementioned "Father," complete with a James Brown sample lifted from a 1988 CNN interview, adds little beyond the tough-sounding beats, which likewise end up feeling stale even once Travis steps in to lend support, amid gospel-flavored breaks. The same goes for "All The Love," with Ye's voice filtered and backed by a robotic counter-vocal, while yet another marching-band cadence, by now a trademark of West's songbook, underscores watered-down verses about the proverbial pain to be left behind. And the presence of someone like André Troutman behind the boards (and elsewhere) does little to help.

Between a Cissy Houston sample and one from The Moments, everything glides by without leaving a mark. And Kanye coasts on autopilot even when he prays in his own way during moments that look rhythmically interesting on paper, like "Mama's Favorite," essentially just another interlude that goes nowhere.

Fragments borrowed, even if only for a few seconds, from Asha Bhosle, The Simpsons, Poncho Sanchez and Mad Lads, just to name a few, likewise amplify exactly that dose of nostalgic rapture Kanye West has always cherished, perhaps useful for conjuring up a bit of western atmosphere, as on the title track, a duet with CeeLo Green.

"I Can't Wait," built around another excellent sample, specifically "You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes, still revolves around the album's leitmotif: sampling a melody from the past, making it his own to broadcast his redemption to the world, wrapped in blanket disdain, and calling it a day.

They hatе to see the system actually figured out

Thеy want you caught up in distraction, fear, and doubt

I’d rather focus on the love that’s been around

One could go on for a while longer, pointing out the details of what, in the end, still amounts to the same litany, with the exception of the well-articulated Latin groove of "Last Breath," helped along by Peso Pluma's presence — though ultimately that too remains a rare (and lame) exception on a record devoid of sparks or knockout blows. A near-flop with no potential hits, one that might instead find new life on a tour promising to be visually spectacular.

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04/04/2026