Yeezy season has returned for a third time in 2024. Following a pair of Vultures installments with Ty Dolla $ign, Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — has turned his attention from the joint projects to his forthcoming solo album titled Bully.
The rapper revealed the cover art for Bully on Instagram Wednesday (Oct. 23). Shot by Daidō Moriyama, the artwork features a black-and-white photo of someone grinning ear to ear, possibly showcasing Ye’s titanium grill.
Outpump speculates that the cover relates to “ohaguro,” which is an ancient Japanese tradition involving dyeing one’s teeth black as a symbol before exploring adulthood, as well as after marriage and for beauty.
It’s been a busy year for Ye fans, and they’re welcoming the idea of more music to close out the year. “This album is about to be insane,” one person wrote in the post’s comment section. Another chimed in, “Three albums in one year. Amazing.”
According to journalist Touré, Kanye relocated to Tokyo and has repeatedly been spotted in Japan over the course of the last month. He even stepped out with wife Bianca Censori earlier this week to shut down rumors of their split. “Kanye is now living in Tokyo and living in a hotel hard at work on his next album Bully,” said Touré in an Oct. 11 IG post. “He’s recording the album in the hotel room. Like, all the machines are set up in the hotel room.”
He added: “It’s a concept album and he plans to be the only producer on it. Traditionally, Kanye is the product of a team, there are producers helping him, there are writers helping him, he comes with the big ideas but there’s others in. Not this time. This time, Kanye is gonna make this pretty much by himself. A fresh chapter in his life because in Tokyo he can be who he wants to be.”
Yeezy debuted “Beauty and the Beast” during his China shows, and that appears to be what he’s tapped as a lead single heading into Bully. The 47-year-old released a dreamy visual for the track on his Yeezy website last week.
Vultures 1 arrived in February and debuted atop the Billboard 200. Ye earned another No. 1 hit with “Carnival” featuring Playboi Carti and Rich the Kid topping the Billboard Hot 100 in March. Vultures 2 was released in August, and the project hit No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
There still isn’t a release date attached to Bully. Find the cover art below.