Going into Bully by Kanye West, I was hesitant. In recent years, West has madeextremely offensive and controversial takes, including antisemitism, racism, misogyny, etc. Recently, such values have entered his music in disgusting tracts like HH and Cousins, so going into Bully, I thought there was a daughting chance of similar themes. Recent events within the last few months gave me hope for Bully. West revealed that in early 2025, he experienced a bipolar disorder-induced episode where he said things he regretted, according to The Recovery Village and NPR news. He alsoreleased an apology letter in The Wall Street Journal. Fortunately, Bully returns closer to West’s roots, featuring Graduation soul beats and hints from other albums, including some very strong songs. Based on his previous work and his typical quality of music, I would rate Bully a 7.5/10.

Father
This song instantly hooked me; the build-up from the slow intro into such an incredible beat left me stunned. I was surprised by the Travis Scott feature, especially when he followed a much more antique style of rapping reminiscent of his older albums like Jack Boys one.One of my favorite moments of this song is the transition between West’s verse and Scott’s, using a clip of an old interview with West providing a tunnel back to the beat. Father also features an incredible music video, filled with symbolism. The music video features a lot, but sticks to a main theme of alienism in society. This represents that if you are thought of as normal, but you are revealed, then society chastises you, but if you come in as different, but underneath you have a normal persona, you are rewarded. One detail is Michial Jackson sitting in the back of the audience watching events unfold.

All the love
At first, I believed that All the Love was going to be a lackluster track until the beat hit. It was truly an incredible experience. I truly felt like I was listening to the old West, specifically songs like ” Stronger ” from Graduation. It felt like there was an orchestra of electronic beats with soul reminiscence present. The theme for “All the Love” is also interesting and somewhat deep; the main chorus essentially says that you should not worry or hold on to pain from your past, instead, to focus on the blessings of the current moment and feel “All the Love”.

Last Breath
Even though this might have been one of the more shallow songs of “Bully,” it still did not disappoint. The song featured a very interesting Spanish beat, including multiple tracks sung in Spanish by West. On top of that, Peso Pluma was featured on the song, which really added to the song. I enjoyed the mix of traditional Spanish instruments like morracos and trumpets present, while still being supported by a strong chorus and background bass. I thought this experimental song was a fun journey and certainly could not be left out.