Beauty. Beast. Bully. Seemingly, Ye’s upcoming solo project, notably his first since 2021’s Donda and the first since his “I like Hitler” moment in an Alex Jones interview the following year, is going the concept album route.
Early Tuesday, Ye shared a live video for “Beauty and the Beast,” a song he previously previewed for fans at a listening party experience in Haikou, China last month. The version shared to Ye’s occasionally active Instagram is seemingly taken from the same footage, albeit with improved audio compared to the fan-shared rips that have been floating around in recent days. It’s unclear, at 1:46 in length, whether this is the full and/or final version of the song.
“Live from Haikou, updated from Tokyo,” Ye wrote when sharing the video, noting that an E-mu SP-1200 and ASR were both used in the creation of the track.
“I got a new album coming out,” Ye told fans in Haikou in September. “The album is called Bully and this song is called 'Beauty and the Beast.'”
A previous Haikou listening party experience saw fans being given a preview of another new solo track, tentatively titled “Preacher Man.” No release date has been announced for the album, which is expected to stand as Ye's first solo full-length to be released without Def Jam. Vultures 1 and Vultures 2 with Ty Dolla Sign, both released earlier this year, carry the YZY label on streaming services.
Also unclear is whether Bully's rollout will supersede previously announced plans for a final, trilogy-closing Vultures volume. The “Beauty and the Beast” track, specifically, is alleged by Mike Dean to be a “leftover” from the Donda era. The song seemingly samples “Don’t Have to Shop Around” by The Mad Lads.
Writer and journalist Touré recently shared a Ye-focused update to his Culture Fries Substack in which he described Bully as “a concept album,” sessions for which have taken place “in his hotel room” in Tokyo. According to Touré, who cited unnamed friends as sources, Ye is aiming to be the lone producer on the album, marking a departure from his recent releases and a potential return to form.