Three million views in two days might sound like a lot – until you remember this is Kanye we're talking about. Avowed Nazi and acclaimed rapper/producer Kanye West's reputation has utterly tanked recently, likely due to that 'avowed Nazi' thing – if you haven't scrolled through his Twitter lately, just save yourself the trouble and imagine a string of the worst slurs you can imagine. As predicted by some fans, Kanye seems to have used this as a marketing strategy, recently and unceremoniously dropping his next album, the aptly-named Bully, on YouTube. It's 45 minutes of vaguely Kanye-esque sound, scoring a slow-mo video of his young son Saint beating up a crowd of masked wrestlers (who really sell it like pros, it should be said).
Everyday people had already lost interest. A good chunk of die-hard fans followed suit. Some, however, were hoping for a redemption arc, an all-timer album that would retroactively justify staying on Team Kanye through his racist tirades. They didn't get that.
Given all of the controversy and debate surrounding Chicago multi-hyphenate Kanye West, a lot of fans are wondering whether it's time to let him go. But he won't let them do so for lack of new music. Ye just dropped his extended BULLY V1 album on YouTube, a shorter version of which he had released only on social media along with an accompanying wrestling short film. Not only that, but he explained that this unconventional release is an unfinished version of the album, and that about half of it used AI technology to fill in the gaps and show this work in progress.
It's not a surprising approach given the Yeezy mogul's previous rollouts and "updates" to his records. But still, a lot of fans can't escape the other headlines surrounding him. Not because they necessarily condemn Kanye West, his bridge-burning with other rappers, and bigoted statements, but from a pure engagement standpoint. It seems like many fans are not tuning into BULLY V1 for its unofficial nature, but then again, if you tune in, you will probably find at least one gem if you're a Kanye fan.
Releasing an incomplete, AI-filled album that longtime fans might like (I sure didn't) isn't quite the 180 that some may have been hoping for – and at this point, one has to wonder how many Kanye fans are hanging on simply thanks to the sunk cost fallacy. With every Tweet and every second of half-assed music, it becomes harder and harder to make excuses – "he made Graduation!" hasn't been convincing in a long time. He may not be running out of tooth-replacement money anytime soon, but he's certainly no longer the generational artist he was even ten years ago.
Previously:
• Kanye West can't sell White Lives Matter shirts because two black radio hosts own the trademark
• Nazis loudly support Kanye's antisemitism. Adidas remains silent about the sponsorship funding it
• The Holocaust Museum offered Kanye West a tour. It reports being 'flooded with antisemitic messages' ever since
