BULLY

To preface this, I haven't listened to any of the previous versions or leaks of this album. @seansharp put it very well, I wouldn't call this a bad album whatsoever, and I appreciate the drawback to these synthy beats and soul samples. Other than that, I feel that this is about what I expected from Kanye anyway. I would have liked a little more experimentation into new lanes, however it's completely fine as is, and still a project to be proud of. Not sure if I'm coming back to most of these tracks though.

yummylicious

Given the ridiculous amount of backstory that goes into the creation of this album and just Kanye's last decade as a whole, it's hard not to go into this without some sort of little voice in the back of your head. To start, I am grateful that this didn't end up being whatever monstrosity he concocted like 6 months ago before he released that letter and announced he was not using AI on "BULLY". I believe this album was not one where Kanye was trying to make something great, but rather trying to save it from being something bad within the past few months. And to be fair, he did succeed in that task. I wouldn't call this bad by any means. The beats and sampling are usually pretty crisp and it contains that bit of spice that reminds you why Kanye is Kanye. The real fall off here is almost everything to do with the vocals. Kanye's vocal mixing is not the best but oddly only on his voice. The few features that do litter this thing are some of may favorite parts. Especially the way CeeLo Green's voice is warped into the chorus on the self-titled track. Love to hear something new with vocal manipulation. Yet anytime Kanye attempts to affect his own voice, it's rough around the edges. The other downside is the lack of progression a lot of these songs have. All too often, a song would start and I would become excited for some sort of great verse or some great chorus, but those moments never came. This may be a backhanded compliment, but I think "LAST BREATH" is actually one of the better tracks on here too. It does feel strange to have Kanye rapping/singing in Spanish and overall the vibe of the track comes completely out of left field, but I can appreciate the Ye flair on the typical reggaeton beat. Andre Troutman's contributions are also a great addition especially on "ALL THE LOVE". While I still find that song didn't stick the landing after the opening, the opening and Andre's portion are just great. I could list almost every song on here for a great thing then follow it up with a "but...". I hope Kanye stays mentally healthy even if it means mid music, but time will tell.