After two years of delays, revisions, and Ye’s (formerly Kanye West) own long list of controversies, his latest album, Bully, has finally arrived. And the numbers suggest it’s a hit.
The album, which premiered on March 28 (Philippine Time) through an online listening party hosted by Ye, secured the No. 1 spot on Spotify’s top albums chart. Bully, as of writing, has beaten releases such as RAYE’s This Music May Contain Hope, Central Cee’s All Roads Lead Home, and Slayyyter’s Wor$t Girl in America, among others, for the spot.
What’s more, 10 of the 18 tracks on Bully have made their way into Spotify’s chart of top songs worldwide. “FATHER (feat. Travis Scott)” currently sits atop the list, with tracks like “ALL THE LOVE (feat. Andre Troutman)” and “KING” following close behind. According to the streaming platform, the album has already racked more than 33.2 million streams since its release.
Ye’s fans and critics alike have praised Bully, despite the drama that’s surrounded the rapper for more than a decade (remember his spat with Taylor Swift back at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards?). Earlier this January, Ye took out a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal to apologize for his past behavior and acknowledge years of antisemitic remarks. On March 25, days before he dropped Bully, Ye also made sure to rebuke his previous claims that the album had been made with the help of A.I.
Reviews of Bully have tended to focus on the rapper’s return to form, especially after previous albums like VULTURES 2, which was criticized for its use of AI and overall messiness. “Bully is more polished and cohesive than his work in recent years,” wrote Billboard. “Ye limited the half-baked ideas and unfinished tracks, thankfully threw away the AI-slop vocals and got back to his roots by chopping up soulful samples on the production side.”
However, not everyone is convinced that Ye has made his way back to his rapper’s pedestal. “While listening to the record, something happened to me that had never happened with a Kanye West record: boredom,” wrote Rolling Stone in its assessment of the album. Other critics held back their punches, with Complex running the headline, “There’s a Great Kanye West Album Somewhere Inside of Bully.”
