Kanye West has made his most candid statement yet about his marriage to Bianca Censori, with a new track that appears to address their split and reconciliation, like his long-awaited album Bully debuted at listening parties around the world.
The 20-track record, which is called Ye, was supposed to be released on streaming services but has yet to appear on any platforms.
Instead, fans around the world got their first listen at dedicated listening events.
And one song in particular, Ups and downsimmediately gained attention for how openly he speaks about the status of his relationship with the Australian-born architect, whom he married in 2022, weeks after his divorce from Kim Kardashian was finalized.
On the track, West sings: “Ups and downs, I put you through a lot, I know. Ups and downs. Yet you never let me go.”
He continues, “You said I love you and I love you back. Before I break your heart, I’m going to have a heart attack. We broke up, but we came back. And we’re going to stay attached until we go black.”
The outro sees him pleading: “Don’t let me go. I’ve put you through a lot, I know.”
It’s a striking admission from an artist whose behavior in recent years, including a series of widely condemned anti-Semitic remarks, has put his wife in an extremely difficult situation.
West issued an open letter of apology for the remarks in January, although the new album’s title track raises new questions about what actually changed.
On Bullyhe raps, “I wanna beat somebody up like a bully.”
The album could also land him in legal hot water.
West has a history of sampling music without permission, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne were furious in 2024 when he used a Black Sabbath track despite permission being denied.
On Bullya song called I can’t wait samples of the Supremes You can’t hurry, my lovewhile White lines borrows heavily from The Carpenters’ (They long to be) near you.
It remains to be seen whether the rights holders have signed on this time, and that could partly explain why the album has not yet appeared on streaming services.
