Kanye West (aka Ye) has reflected on the success of BULLY, saying the album reaching No. 1 represents the most meaningful chart achievement of his career. Speaking during a call-in appearance at Larry Jackson’s summit, the rapper connected the milestone to his recovery following a mental health episode last year.
Addressing attendees, Ye described the album’s commercial success as something far more personal than simply adding another No. 1 record to his résumé.
“A year into the project I went into an episode, so this right here is a celebration, a victory, a success story of people who have dealt with mental health crises,” Kanye West said. “For you guys to be so forgiving & so supportive just means the world to me.” The remarks marked one of Ye’s most candid public reflections on the making of BULLY, framing the album as both a creative comeback and a deeply personal milestone.
Released on March 28, 2026, through YZY and Gamma, BULLY serves as Ye’s twelfth studio album. The project features appearances from Travis Scott, CeeLo Green, Peso Pluma, André Troutman and Nine Vicious, while its deluxe edition, released on June 19, added Lauryn Hill, Don Toliver and longtime collaborator Tony Williams. Production was led by Kanye West alongside André Troutman, The Legendary Traxster, 88-Keys, Nkenge 1x and several additional contributors.
The road to the album’s release was unusually long. Ye first announced BULLY in September 2024 before unveiling multiple work-in-progress versions during 2025, accompanied by a short film starring his son Saint. Following several delays and preview EPs, the finished album arrived in March 2026 alongside the music video for “Father” after a livestreamed listening event in Inglewood.
Commercially, BULLY opened at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 152,000 album-equivalent units, according to Billboard’s published figures, earning Ye his 14th top-10 album on the chart. Gamma later disputed those numbers, claiming the project actually generated 201,000 equivalent units during its first full tracking week after its Saturday release.
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