“Damn” wasn’t played during the Bully livestream, but it makes the album’s final cut on DSPs. West sings over stripped-down production about enjoying the ride in front of you, while not worrying about the possibility of crashing. As a survivor of a terrible car accident in 2002, West knows a thing or two about cheating death and moving forward.

Don Toliver reunites with Ye and builds on his dominant 2026 behind his OCTANE album, and it’s still only March. Toliver is one of the most malleable weapons in hip-hop with a unique sound, and Ye has a penchant for deploying collaborators in positions to win. Unfortunately, “Circles” looks to be more of an interlude moving Bully along, rather than a fully fleshed-out idea.

Ye has never been one to box himself into certain genres. He experiments on the Latin side while recruiting the corridos tumbados of Peso Pluma for “Last Breath.” For possibly the first time in his career, Yeezy hops in the booth and puts his Spanish to the test, while harping on a toxic relationship between shots of Clase Azul. With more polishing, this could’ve had the dancefloors on fire uptown.

Ye has always kept an open mind to working with the next generation of artists, and here he connects with underground rapper Nine Vicious, who provides background vocals and gives “This a Must” a menacing twist.

Rarely one to look back on his success, West recalls the days he was seeking global stardom with 2007’s Graduation. “This a Must” lives somewhere in the middle of the pack of Bully, and the track may sound familiar to Ye diehards — as it was recorded under the title “Unlock” with Ty Dolla $ign for the Vultures sessions, but never ended up having an official home.

Much like the Backstreet Boys-sampling “Everybody” from Vultures, “Highs and Lows” will live in the same bag of what could have been. With French singer Pomme denying use of the original’s sample, West was forced to pivot. Think about how many music moments we’ve been robbed of over clearances over the years. It’s still a solid Bully track, as Ye emotionally pours his heart out to loved ones who have stood by him amid the plethora of controversies he’s been embroiled in.

“Beauty and the Beast” was originally played at the Vultures 2 listening party in China, but Mike Dean has alleged the track to actually be a Donda holdover. West seems to be at peace singing between a Mad Lads sample. “It’s been a long time coming/ Fresh new tires, I’m still running,” he lightly croons with a sprinkle of the Yeezus deconstruction at his back.

As a producer, Ye remains unmatched. Here, West meshes a Supremes sample into a melancholic soundscape. Yeezy could go into a coma for a decade, come out, and his production would remain avant-garde and ahead of the pack. Whenever his career seems to be at a crossroads, Ye has been able to lean on music time and time again to bail him out and walk through the fire.

It was a long road for the soulful “Preacher Man” from the Vultures 2 sessions to finally finding a home on Bully. This is the brash spoken-word flow that should’ve been planted across the album. Ye sneers at the opposition with the kind of cheeky bars we’ve come accustomed to from him, as he calls out a woman for hating sports but still sitting pretty courtside, along with the self-indulgent “I hate that God didn’t make a couple more of me.”

Ye ruminates about the peace and solace he finds in being alone at times. Something the world could probably use more of. With an electronic lift from André Troutman, West sings about how he’ll always remain truthful, following his path even when it looks bleak. A Bully palette cleanser, so to speak.

It’s always darkest before dawn, and West delivers a healing album finisher to close the book on Bully. “This One Here” has traces back to Ye’s work with James Blake in 2022, but Blake came out on Saturday (March 28) requesting his production credits be removed from the song. Blake says it’s nothing personal, but it’s not a true Ye album rollout without some controversy, right? I’m going to be repeating “This one here, this fire, fire” the rest of the weekend.

Make room for “Mama’s Favorite” on the mantle of special tracks invoking his late mother, Donda West, alongside “Hey Mama” and “Only One.” Ye’s soft, melodic flow leads into a celestial outro which features a conversation between a neophyte Yeezy and Donda previously seen in the Jeen-Yuhs documentary. The talk finds Donda instilling her son with self-confidence that carried him to greatness.

A similar vibe to “Punch Drunk,” Ye chops a Cissy Houston sample and kicks off “Whatever Works” with possible reference to his Wall Street Journal ad apologizing to Jewish and Black communities for pain caused in recent years. With lone ten-bar verse there’s room for potent second verse that could pierce listeners’ souls making “Whatever Works” one of standouts from Bully.

A Jonah Thompson sample mixed with fuzzy distortion and stripped-down drums makes for gloomy backdrop for Ye parachute into. West finds one of best pockets on album touching how public thinks he’s “blacking out like Akon,” forgetting greatness he’s given hip-hop. “Take some time off; they act like they don’t remember,” he claims.

Toward end of his “Sisters and Brothers” verse appears shift in Ye’s thinking. In past West has been quick remind everyone —and Forbes </em—of once-billionaire status but now referring money as “the root all evil.”