Kanye’s Comeback or Downfall?

Kanye West’s newest album, Bully, covers many topics like the controversy around him and his comeback to making music. The main purpose of this album is to address his past and right his wrongs. However, this album is marred by his past use of AI, and it often brings up the question of whether or not AI was used to enhance his music. 

In West’s newest album, he talks about his relationship with his mother and how he wants to regain his relationship with God. This can be seen in his song “Father” where he samples Johnnie Frierson while he says the line “Give us love another day and hear our prayers.” This line can be seen as Kanye both asking for forgiveness from God and from his fans, as he feels like he wronged them with some of the things he’s said.

In a different song “Mama’s Favorite,” Kanye talks about his close relationship with his mother Donda West, which is something that he persistently talked about during his career after her passing in 2007. In this song, he talks about how his mother made him feel like the favorite child despite the fact that he was an only child. 

This love for his mother can be plainly seen when he sings “Only child mama’s favorite.” This mournful song about his mother feels like one of the many breaths of fresh air you get from this album because instead of using upsetting words and controversial topics, he talks about a lost relationship that changed his career and his life in general. 

On the topic of lost relationships, during the song “Brothers And Sisters,” West talks about the many lost relationships he’s had to face in the past years due to the many controversies revolving around his name. During the first verse and of the very first lines of the song, West says, “My brothers move a lot like strangers (Let’s come together)” which is him acknowledging that many people who he was previously close to in the industry don’t associate with him and act “a lot like strangers.” However, instead of creating animosity by saying this, he sings “Let’s come together” to say that he has changed and wants only forgiveness.

West’s past use of AI heavily takes away from his music and his apologeticness and makes many disbelieve that he truly made some songs without the use of it, like on the song “Circles,” where it appears that West is singing, but some say Don Toliver originally sings the lyrics. This use of AI is criticized by journalists, critics, and even the average listener. 

One critic comments that West is “reliant on AI as both a gimmick and a crutch.” This consistent use of AI, even though it was thought not to be on Bully was used and further ruins his reputation around AI because he previously mentioned in a 2025 interview with Justin Laboy that the album would not use AI to which he double downed in a twitter post saying “BULLY ON THE WAY NO AI.” This is not only stapling him as someone who lies to his fans, but also someone who isn’t ashamed to taint their career by using AI and other songwriters to do the work for him. 

In many ways, West’s use of AI is bad and should be condemned; however, it is made worse because of the fact that he removed his songs using AI and remade them, which, in a way, looks like he’s trying to cover the fact that he ever used AI. Kanye West’s album Bully has many good aspects of forgiveness to people he’s wronged and replenished his tarnished religious reputation; however, it is overlooked because of his constant use of AI.