After months of delays, Kanye West appears ready to release Bully on tonight, March 27. The long-teased project, his twelfth studio album, has cycled through multiple versions, leaks, and public revisions, building one of the most unpredictable rollouts of his career.
Release Date, Time, and Where It Might Drop
The current release date is set for March 27, via YZY and Gamma, following a last-minute confirmation through billboards unveiled on March 10. No official midnight drop has been confirmed, but recent activity, including updated tracklists and preview snippets, suggests a release window aligned with U.S. streaming cycles.
Earlier in the week, West postponed three global listening events scheduled for March 26, fueling speculation that final changes were still underway. That pattern mirrors previous delays, with at least six announced release dates pushed back between June 2025 and January 2026.
A Chaotic Rollout Defined by Delays
Bully was first announced in September 2024, with an initial release target of June 15, 2025. That date came and went, followed by rescheduled drops on July 25, September 26, November 7, December 12, January 30, and March 20.
Instead of a traditional rollout, West opted for fragmented releases. On March 18, 2026, he surprise-dropped three work-in-progress versions of the album via X, each with different tracklists. Those iterations were accompanied by Bully V1, a short film directed by West and edited by Hype Williams, starring his son Saint in a surreal wrestling narrative.
Earlier preview strategies included two EPs released in June and July 2025, featuring tracks like “Preacher Man,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Damn.” Five additional songs were briefly registered under both “Ye” and “Kanye West” in June 2025.
Sound and Direction: A Return to Melody
Sonically, Bully draws from the emotional palette of 808s & Heartbreak and the maximalist ambition of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The project leans heavily on melody, with West primarily singing rather than rapping across early versions.
Production is rooted in dense sampling and interpolation, while collaborators include Ty Dolla Sign, Don Toliver, and Baby Keem, alongside writers such as Quentin Miller and Malik Yusef. Sessions reportedly began during the Donda era in 2021, with the track “Beauty and the Beast” dating back to those recordings.
The AI Controversy
One of the defining elements of Bully’s rollout has been its use of artificial intelligence. Early versions featured AI-generated vocals mimicking West’s voice, a decision he publicly defended by comparing it to Auto-Tune.
Criticism intensified after a vinyl rip leaked on March 24, 2026, still containing AI elements. Within hours, West responded by posting a revised tracklist and promising that the final version would include “no AI,” confirming plans to re-record vocals with his own voice.
Tracklist Changes and Missing Songs
The album’s tracklist has shifted repeatedly across versions. Songs like “Melrose,” initially teased as a collaboration with Playboi Carti and Ty Dolla Sign, were ultimately removed. West later confirmed plans to rework it as a solo track.
New additions include “Father,” previewed in a resurfaced Beats campaign featuring Travis Scott, along with eight previously unheard tracks. Meanwhile, cuts such as “Highs and Lows,” “Mission Control,” and “Losing Your Mind” are expected to remain exclusive to physical editions.
Here’s the full tracklist:
SISTERS AND BROTHERS
WHATEVER WORKS
FATHER
ALL THE LOVE
I CAN’T WAIT
BULLY
MAMA’S FAVORITE
PUNCH DRUNK
THIS A MUST
OUTSIDE
PREACHER MAN
WHITE LINES
CIRCLES
THIS ONE HERE
KING
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
DAMN
LAST BREATH
HIGHS AND LOWS
MISSION CONTROL
Touring Plans Already Locked In
Despite the uncertainty around the release, West has already scheduled a global tour running from April to August 2026. The run includes major dates across the United States, Europe, and Asia, with stops in France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands.
Demand has already proven strong. More than one million users reportedly entered the pre-sale queue for his upcoming Los Angeles shows at SoFi Stadium, marking his first performance in the city since 2021.
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