Ye’s Latest Project Drops as a Short Film After a Day of Controversial Tweets Targeting Industry Giants

March 19, 2025 - Los Angeles, CA - In a whirlwind of controversy and creativity, Kanye West, now known as Ye, released his highly anticipated album Bully last night, March 18, 2025, capping off a day of aggressive posts on X where he lambasted the music industry. The album, unveiled as a short film rather than a traditional streaming release, marks Ye’s latest bold move in a career defined by unpredictability and innovation.

The release came just hours after Ye unleashed a barrage of tweets, calling out industry figures and institutions with his signature unfiltered intensity. In one post, he accused major record labels of treating artists “like prostitutes,” while others targeted fellow artists like Jay-Z and Beyoncé, reigniting old feuds with a fresh layer of venom. Amid this digital storm, Ye dropped a link to the Bully film on X at 7:35 PM PDT, accompanied by a cryptic caption: “BULLY FILM ALBUM NOT FINISHED AND HALF THE VOCALS AI IMA RESING CAUSE I ACTUALLY HATE AI NOW I WANNA SEE WHAT YALL FUCK WITH.” The password-protected link, shared via Frame.io, offered fans three versions of the project—labeled “Latest,” “Post Hype,” and “Post Post Hype”—each ranging between 30 and 45 minutes.

The Bully film, directed with input from acclaimed visionary Hype Williams, features Ye’s son Saint West in a wrestling ring, wielding a mallet against unnamed aggressors. The visuals pair with a soundtrack that Ye himself described as incomplete, with “half the vocals AI,” a stark pivot from his earlier enthusiasm for artificial intelligence in music production. This raw, experimental approach has already sparked debate among fans, with some praising the unpolished authenticity and others questioning whether it signals a rushed release.

Ye’s X rant didn’t stop at industry critique. He also expressed disdain for digital streaming platforms (DSPs), writing, “I may stop using DSPs cause streams are fake and the French and Jewish record labels treat artists like prostitutes.” Instead, he opted to distribute Bully directly through his tweets, a move he framed as a rebellion against the traditional music ecosystem. Whether this marks a permanent shift or a one-off stunt remains unclear, but it underscores Ye’s ongoing war with the industry he’s long accused of stifling his vision.

The album’s rollout follows months of buildup. Ye first teased Bully in September 2024 during a performance in China, debuting the track “Beauty and the Beast,” which appears in the film. Since then, snippets like “Preacher Man” and reports of his solitary production process in a Tokyo hotel room have fueled anticipation. Scheduled originally for June 15, 2025—his daughter North West’s birthday—the sudden drop last night caught even diehard fans off guard.

Reactions on X have been swift and polarized. Some users hailed Ye’s audacity, with one writing, “Ye dropped BULLY after calling out half the industry today—legend.” Others saw it as chaotic self-sabotage, pointing to his recent inflammatory posts, including rescinding an apology to the Jewish community and declaring himself “a Nazi.” The timing of the release, intertwined with such rhetoric, has reignited discussions about Ye’s mental state and artistic legacy.

As of now, it’s uncertain if Bully will see a polished release on streaming platforms or remain a fleeting experiment accessible only via Ye’s X account. What’s clear is that Ye continues to defy norms, blending music, film, and provocation into a singular, polarizing package. For better or worse, Bully ensures that Kanye West remains impossible to ignore.