Key Takeaways:
- Ye’s 12th studio album, BULLY, will be released March 20 through gamma.
- The rollout includes a controversial apology ad and a short film featuring his eldest son, Saint.
- The gamma partnership reflects Ye’s move toward independent distribution and creative control.
Kanye West previously insisted he isn’t making a “PR move” to push his forthcoming new album, BULLY. However, the artist now known as Ye has just inked a distribution deal with gamma for the release of the anticipated, yet delayed, project.
The relatively new distribution company was founded in 2023 by former Apple Music exec Larry Jackson and Ike Youssef, who serve as CEO and president, respectively. Some of the artists on its roster include Usher, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, and Sexyy Red. Now, the controversial Chicago multi-hyphenate has linked with gamma for his 12th studio album, scheduled to arrive on March 20.
First announced in September 2024, songs and early versions of the project have been released online — there were even pre-orders in October 2024. A short film titled Bully V1, starring Ye’s eldest son, Saint, was released in June 2025. However, the use of AI in initial versions was not well received. Ye then said it was “not finished” and that he’d be removing the AI from the final album.
Rolling Stone reports that the version of BULLY set to drop in March was completed before Ye’s full-page “apology” ad in the Wall Street Journal on Monday (Jan. 26). Soon after its publication, there was a backlash, as many thought the contrition for his antisemitic and hateful rhetoric was insincere and only signaled that he had an album to promote.
In an e-mail interview with Vanity Fair shortly thereafter, the “Champion” rapper insisted that was not the case. “This, for me… isn’t about reviving my commerciality,” Ye told Vanity Fair, after noting the anticipation for BULLY. “This is because these remorseful feelings were so heavy on my heart and weighing on my spirit.”
Nevertheless, the theorized rollout timeline — Ye apologizes, then a new album must be on the way — is coming to fruition.
Ye’s last album, 2022’s DONDA 2, was also a nontraditional process. Its initial release came via a Stem Player, and in 2025, an edited version landed on streaming services via his YZY brand.