Kanye West – Bully Review

The writing was on the wall for Kanye West long before his perceived downfall. Anything after The Life of Pablo was hardly his best work and while TikTok trends go a long way in reviving a select few Jesus is King songs, it has now been a decade since West released work of relevance. Two Donda albums, two miserable Vultures efforts and now Bully, either an introspective look at himself which produced the title or a suggestion that those who do not fall in line with him are bullying him. West’s personal life has made it hard to hear him out on a lot of his music but, even if he were a squeaky-clean member of the public who hadn’t sold clothing emblazoned with some of the nastiest symbols the modern world has ever seen, it’d be hard to get on board with Bully. A CeeLo Green and Andre Troutman-featuring effort which relies more on the nobodies and controversies of others than it does the songwriting quality, of which there is very little.  

You cannot manufacture a new dawn. West believes saying this is the start of a whole new achievement is enough to exonerate the past and guarantee a future. Opening track King does just that, and though it’s an instrumentally brutal and interesting experience, the sentiment does not carry. Bully was saddled with artificial intelligence usage, and it has muddied the project even now West has waded through and seemingly fixed it up. Robbie Williams did much the same with Britpop. If a listener who cares for art cannot tell what is and what is not generated material, then they are well within their right to disengage. Bully has been walked back, thrown forward, and pulled again by a creative whose inconsistencies in the real world are now affecting him massively in the studio. Bully is all over the place as West pursues some kind of industrial-type sound on the Travis Scott-featuring Father. Moments of real interest and instrumental strength are sunk by a thoroughly underwhelming sound. All the Love is the first of a few songs worth hearing.  

Instrumentally satisfying work is what West brings here, and it’s just about enough on a few songs to overhaul the lyrical shortcomings. West says he needed to “read between the lines” on Punch Drunk, and while that’s a sentiment of interest it doesn’t go anywhere particular. His notation that he must learn does not mean he is learning, and across Bully it sounds as though he’s not all that much to offer in the way of explanations or even insightful commentaries away from the obvious. Mama’s Favourite feels less sentimental, more like vindicating himself with praise from a person close to him because he’s no longer getting that from fans or critics. It’s a bit of a weak spot for the album and another example of West listening to nobody and everybody at once. Bully is a mixed mess but what stings most of all is the moments that do work are so close to interesting, yet West pulls it away from a satisfying sound.  

West loses himself in the mix here as he tries to bring himself back to the forefront the scene. He fails, but not spectacularly. Bully is relatively awful and its back end falls apart, but there is a resilience in here that can at least be improved on, unlike with Vultures and Donda. West is at least consistent with his underwhelming songs across Bully. There’s only a couple slip-ups where you hear the worst of his work come through. It’s enough to sink the album as an experience anywhere close to enjoyable but at least those moments are infrequent. He leaves it a little late to salvage Bully but the Peso Pluma-featuring Last Breath is the best of a bad bunch. This One Here is a decent end too but it means wading through some of the most inconclusive and underwhelming work from West in a long while. He has at least lost his controversial bite here and has returned to doing what he does best, praising himself while providing little evidence to being the best in class.