This was published 5 months ago

Kanye West spent 44 seconds quoting his haters on the song I Love Kanye from his acclaimed 2016 album The Life of Pablo: “I miss the old Kanye, straight from the ’Go Kanye. Chop up the soul Kanye, set on his goals Kanye,” he said in his lyrics. “I hate the new Kanye, the bad mood Kanye. The always rude Kanye…”

The rap star, who is now known as Ye, spent years mocking and rejecting criticism that he should return to the soulful, socially conscious sound that marked the pink polos-and-a-backpack era of his breakthrough albums, The College Dropout (2004) and Late Registration (2005).

Kanye West, who is now known as Ye, has dropped his new album, Bully – which is surprisingly uncontroversial. AP

It is surprising then that his return to music comes in the form of a new album titled Bully, which dials the clock back to the early 2000s.…