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Ye’s highly anticipated solo project, BULLY, may arrive much sooner than aficionados had predicted. On Wednesday (Oct. 23), the “All Falls Down” artist unveiled the official cover art, which is presented in a monochromatic scheme.
The photograph was captured by the renowned Japanese lensman Daidō Moriyama and portrays an individual beaming, likely adorned with Ye’s personalized grillz. He first showcased the titanium accessory back in January, which was notably influenced by Richard Kiel’s Jaws from the 1977 classic, The Spy Who Loved Me.
“Three albums within a single year. Incredible,” commented one admirer in the section below. Another Instagram user remarked, “My goodness, I’ve lived long enough to witness this.” A further response noted, “I expect to hear Yuno Miles on the album’s opening track,” seemingly alluding to the meme rapper’s absence on VULTURES 2 track “BOMB.”
To date, BULLY has been teased with non-official singles “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST” and “PREACHER MAN,” both of which were initially previewed in Haikou, China.
It’s important to mention that Ye had previously mentioned his grillz in a remix of Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That.” Besides taking shots at Drake and J. Cole, the Chicago artist delivered lines like, “Five hundred down at the base, five hundred at the peak / Titanium grillz, I call that ‘smile on the rocks.’”
Ye has a notorious reputation for abandoning projects. Yandhi was anticipated to release in 2018 as a sequel to the artist’s self-titled album, but it ultimately never materialized. On the other hand, Turbo Grafx 16 was apparently slated for a 2016 debut, as teased by former collaborator Pete Rock.
That said, fans also wonder if the collaborative album VULTURES 3 by Ye and Ty Dolla Sign is still set for a 2024 release. The earlier two parts of their album series were released significantly later than anticipated, with VULTURES 2 potentially missing out on the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 chart due to continual delays.