Fresh off of releasing a pair of “Vultures” albums with Ty Dolla Sign earlier this year, Kanye West announced a new album titled “Bully” and debuted the song “Beauty and the Beast” during his show at Wuyuan River Stadium in Haikou, China today.
Near the end of his performance, he took a moment to reveal he has a new record on the way. “I got a new album coming out,” he told the audience. “The album’s called ‘Bully,’ and this song is called ‘Beauty and the Beast.’” The track features West singing over a gentle instrumental with the lyrics: “I still think about it every night and day to try to stay away, to keep my audience / Don’t take this disrespect, I’m sitting here trying to redirect.”
Longtime West collaborator Mike Dean posted an Instagram comment stating that “Beauty and the Beast” was a “Donda leftover,” suggesting it was intended for his 2021 album. In addition to the “Bully” announcement and song premiere, West also debuted what fans are describing as a finished version with a second verse of “530,” a track included on “Vultures 2.”
Of course, any West fan knows to take any album announcement with a grain of salt. This year alone, both “Vultures” albums were plagued by delays. The first was pushed by months before its inevitable release on Feb. 10, while the second was initially slated to drop on March 8 before finally hitting streaming services on Aug. 3.
West also has a history of picking up projects and discarding them dating back to “Good Ass Job,” initially intended to follow his first three albums. Over the years, he was rumored to release albums including “TurboGrafx 16,” “Yandhi” and “Love Everyone,” though none materialized as proper releases.
The rapper was in China today for his second performance this month. He took the stage on Sept. 15 for a previous listening party experience, which marked his first performance in the country in 16 years.
Over the past year, West has been staging listening parties with Ty Dolla Sign in support of their “Vultures” trilogy, recently making appearances in South Korea and Salt Lake City. They were scheduled to appear in Taiwan for an event in late August but it was canceled just days before.
