Minimalist Piano Loops

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The source notes that West began working on the *Bully* song "Beauty and the Beast" during the sessions for his tenth album *Donda* (2021), according to producer Mike Dean. West offered the song "Preacher Man" to Drake, who declined, before incorporating it into *Bully*. On September 28, 2024, during his performance at the Wuyuan River Stadium in Haikou, China, West announced *Bully*, previewing "Beauty and the Beast" and "Preacher Man." On September 26, 2024, West posted a video on Instagram showing himself using an ASR-10 keyboard to create "Preacher Man." American music journalist Touré reported that *Bully* would be a concept album inspired by West's solitude living in Tokyo, with West as its sole producer. Japanese musician Yojiro Noda of Radwimps was invited in October 2024 to do live instrumentation, contributing to tracks including "Beauty and the Beast," "Bully," "Circles," "Highs and Lows," and "White Lines."

In Their Own Story

The source describes how West, during the production of *Bully*, entered a manic episode in 2025, made antisemitic, pro-Nazi, and racist remarks, and began working on the unreleased album *Cuck* with Dave Blunts. The song "All the Love" originated during the *Cuck* sessions before it was moved to *Bully*. According to *Rolling Stone*, West finished recording *Bully* before his *Wall Street Journal* apology for antisemitic statements in January 2026. The album's *Bully V1* short film, directed by West and edited by Hype Williams, stars West's son Saint, who stands in a wrestling ring wielding a toy mallet and fends off aggressors portrayed by Japanese professional wrestlers Yoh, Toru Yano, Tiger Mask, and El Desperado. According to *Rolling Stone*'s Jayson Buford, Saint represents Kanye, "who envisions himself as a martyr being attacked by all sides."

Reader's Guide

The core technique on *Bully* involves extensive reliance on sampling and interpolations. Recordings such as "A Change Is Gonna Come" (1964) by Sam Cooke, "You Can't Hurry Love" (1966) by the Supremes, "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (1970) by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, "Huit Octobre 1971" (1975) by Cortex, "Bésame Mama" (1996) by Poncho Sanchez, and "Soleil Soleil" (2020) by Pomme are sampled or interpolated. "Losing Your Mind" features an artificial intelligence deepfake cover of the Can song "Vitamin C" (1972), while "Bully" samples *The Simpsons* character Nelson Muntz's "Ha-ha!" catchphrase. *MusicTech* and *Variety* noted that many of these appeared to be uncleared. Pomme had previously denied West permission to sample "Soleil Soleil," citing disagreements with his political views, and the sample ended up not being used in the final version. West also employed AI software in production, championing the benefits of AI stem separation in a February 2025 interview with Justin LaBoy.

Did You Know?

• West began working on the *Bully* song "Beauty and the Beast" during the sessions for his tenth album *Donda* (2021), according to producer Mike Dean.
• West offered the song "Preacher Man" to Drake, who declined, before incorporating it into *Bully*.
• The *Bully V1* short film stars West's son Saint, who fights New Japan Pro-Wrestling wrestlers Yoh, Toru Yano, Tiger Mask, and El Desperado with a toy mallet.
• On *Bully V1*, West stated that half of his vocals are AI-generated deepfakes.
• The song "All the Love" originated during the sessions for the unreleased album *Cuck* with Dave Blunts before it was moved to *Bully*.