Review: Kanye West "Bully"
Listen, let's just get this out of the way: Kanye West has had a tumultuous career that I don't necessarily want to get into right now. He has offended multiple communities, spread blasphemous claims, and has seemingly done every single thing possible to try to hurt others within his circle and those outside of it. Obviously, I don't support these actions or statements, nor do I want to promote anything that has come out of West's claims, and I firmly believe that he does not deserve any recognition or positive spotlight because of this. Despite this, I think it is important to review this album based on its context. West apologized to various groups he has previously attacked in the weeks leading up to BULLY, but the album itself prompts questions of authenticity regarding West's statements.
I would also like to add that these recent comments do not prompt forgiveness towards West nor do they immediately prompt sympathy towards West's mental illnesses. I look at this moment as an opportunity to repair whatever bridges have burned and an opportunity for West to grow despite the fact that the malice he has sown will never disappear. West is a figure in music who has undoubtedly shaped the landscape of the hip hop genre. He was a pioneer of production whose influence can be seen in the music of Tyler, the Creator and Travis Scott, among other contemporaries. In recent years, West's music has been spiraling downwards from the quality we've come to expect based on his earlier albums, with much of the music being seen as boring, lazy, and outright disrespectful. Reviewing this album means going into it expecting West to return to a more polished form, as a statement from an artist who, at least in my hopes, is attempting to correct a narrative which has deeply harmed others.
BULLY consists of 18 tracks each with their own separate lyrical content, making this project less of a concept or story and more of a collection of songs that see West tackling multiple subjects. Despite the amount of source material that there is—spanning from an attempt to change from the hurt dealt to others, West's status, and the story of his origins—BULLY seems to be West's most sparse project when it comes to the actual lyricism in songs. There does seem to be a noticeable resurgence of his flow; however, the clever, cheeky bars for which West is known for only pop up sparingly. Most of the songs in this project really only focus on the production and hooks that are laid in between verses.
Additionally, the remainder of the lyrics often seem to be a bit lazy in writing and way too corny compared to West's usual caliber. Lines like "Take this one to Mars like I'm Matt Damon" off of "MAMA'S FAVORITE" feel super cheesy and bland, which isn't something you expect with Ye. Despite this, Ye will have full verses that counteract this seemingly uninspired writing. "PUNCH DRUNK"'s first verse is a clear example of this. He comments on the media attempting to steer him wrong while simultaneously reflecting upon finding God amidst a failed social structure, all of which combine to create an interesting verse:
"I know some churchgoin' women prayed/What's worse is livin' in conditions made/Hearses takin' good men away/Fathers in the penitentiary/Mothers fightin' for a livin' wage"
What is clearly evident from BULLY is Ye's ability to still carry intriguing flows that diversify the album into multiple genres and styles of hip hop. "FATHER" carries a heavy flow that is reminiscent of the industrial hip hop off of "Yeezus" and compliments Travis Scott's feature on the track. "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" features my personal favorite flow from West with him spewing bars both above and in between the sample being used, which really just emphasizes the niche that he's in with a lot of these songs. The ability to rap is still there for Ye; it just kind of feels uninspired here, which is a bit of a letdown. I'm not entirely sure what the goal was for this album, but I also wasn't fully expecting a complete comeback to the "old Kanye" that many others were expecting.
One thing that does remain from a lot of previous Ye albums, apart from "vultures," is his production, which in this album is in line with what we expect from such an influential producer. A lot of this album features Kanye going back to his sampling roots, chopping up various old tracks over which Ye raps song after song. Stylistically, this album feels very similar to "Yeezus" in some parts with Ye bringing back heavy 808s at times and favoring synths at others. A personal favorite track of mine when considering the production value on this album takes shape in All THE LOVE which features Andre Troutman. The bridge of this track particularly stands out to me as a highlight of this album's production, as Troutman's already stunning vocals are heightened by the processing. Additionally, certain tracks are strong instrumentally such as "PUNCH DRUNK" "MAMA'S FAVORITE" "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" and "PREACHER MAN," all of which feature exactly what I described before with Kanye's sampling and chopping ability. Overall, the production of this project is decent and often enjoyable at times. However, I will say that there is a bit more to be desired given how short the tracks were and how little lyrical content there is. I feel Kanye still has more in the tank after looking at the full production in this album. While it is considerably better than what he offered on "vultures," I feel everyone is kind of left with the same feeling on this album: "it's fine".
This album feels like a return to quality for Ye and, while it isn't the most groundbreaking work of his, I fear we all sort of expected the worst since throughout the last few years he's been going downhill both in quality and personality. It is quite exciting for our expectations to be flipped and for an album that was touted as unreleased by many to be actually available for streaming platforms. I personally am looking forward to a resurgence from Ye and, while I personally will not simply forgive him for his remarks, statements, and actions, I feel that with an artist of his caliber and influence, projects should at least be engaged with. That isn't to say that I support anything that he does personally but rather that observations of an artist, especially within the realm of music, can be made in order to see the growth, recession, or stagnation of their work. Do I think Kanye is changed? I have no clue. I don't think anyone knows, but I am hoping that this is a start to a better path forward. While I won't forgive him or won't forget about his hateful instances, I do hope that BULLY is the start of a new chapter, one that allows him to fall in love with music again and that reminds us of how influential this producer from Chicago once was.
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