Recommendations of the Editorial team
After years of lawsuits and controversy, there still seems to be an audience for Kanye West aka Yes to give – or at least for his music. “Bully,” Kanye West’s long-delayed new album, debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, signaling that the majority of listeners are welcoming the controversial musician back into the mainstream.
“Bully” lands just behind BTS’ “Arirang,” which continues its chart dominance after debuting at No. 1 the previous week. It managed to reach 187,000 equivalent album units in the current evaluation period. Ye follows close behind with 152,000 units. On “Bully” he conjures many of the sounds that have shaped him throughout his career – right down to carefully selected soul samples. In recent weeks he has announced a series of high-profile concerts, including three appearances at London’s Wireless Festival this summer – a move that has already caused the first sponsors to leave.
Kanye West: Sold out concerts in Los Angeles
Last week in Los Angeles, Ye played two sold-out nights at SoFi Stadium in front of tens of thousands of fans each. As he took in the size of the crowd, he paused and shouted, “That’s what 80,000 people sound like… They said I’d never be in the States again. Two sold-out concerts, baby!” In fact, since a series of anti-Semitic and racist outbursts in 2022 – culminating in the release of a swastika T-shirt through his Yeezy brand – Ye has been something of a pariah in mainstream show business. Since then he has apologized numerous times. In an interview with Vanity Fair, he attributed his behavior at the time to mental health issues and a car accident that occurred early in his career.
With “Bully,” Ye seems to be aiming for a comeback in the spotlight. If the first week’s numbers are any indication, this could actually work.
