Kanye West is reportedly going to be the sole producer on his forthcoming album Bully, marking the first time he’s handled all (if not the vast majority) of the beats on a project since his 2004 debut The College Dropout.
According to journalist and podcaster Touré, Ye is now living in Japan and hard at work on his first solo album since 2020’s Donda.
AD LOADING...
Touré said in a video posted on Instagram: “Kanye is now living in Tokyo and living in a hotel hard at work on his next album Bully. He’s recording the album in the hotel room. Like, all the machines are set up in the hotel room.”
He then shared more details about the project, saying: “It’s a concept album and he plans to be the only producer on it. Traditionally, Kanye is the product of a team, there are producers helping him, there are writers helping him, he comes with the big ideas but there’s others in.
“Not this time. This time, Kanye is gonna make this pretty much by himself. A fresh chapter in his life because in Tokyo he can be who he wants to be.”
On his Substack, Touré added: “He’s pulling from an eclectic pool. He’s traveled the world a lot so he’s aware of a lot more music than probably ever before. So I think sound-wise, it’s probably varied. But in a Kanye-esque form.”
He also noted: “This album is 100% him. They meant it’s pretty much made by Kanye alone. He’s producing everything 100% himself. This will be 100% Kanye West, which it hasn’t been in many, many years.”
AD LOADING...
Touré, who has interviewed Kanye in the past, most notably in 2004 for Rolling Stone, cited an unnamed source close to the rap legend.
Ye himself revealed the existence of Bully during a show in China last month, where he also previewed material from the album.
He said to the crowd: “I got a new album coming out. The album is called Bully. And this song is called ‘Beauty and the Beast.'”
The G.O.O.D. Music founder also debuted another unreleased track called “Preacher Man” at his and Ty Dolla $ign‘s previous concert in the Asian country.
AD LOADING...
Vultures 3 was expected to be West’s next album, but the current status of his third joint project with Ty is up in the air following his apparent pivot to focus on Bully.
