James Blake Requests Removal From Kanye West's 'Bully' Album Credits
James Blake has requested to be removed from the production credits of Kanye West's new album, Bully, citing creative differences despite their long history of collaboration.
Kanye West once hailed James Blake as his “favorite artist,” and their collaborative journey began over a decade ago. In 2022, the English singer-songwriter and producer joined forces with the rapper for WAR, a project that remained officially unreleased. Later that year, Ye (formerly Kanye) faced widespread condemnation for his antisemitic remarks on social media and his association with far-right ideologies, leading to the termination of several major business partnerships. In 2024, Blake appeared on “TALKING,” a track from West and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1, which marked the musical debut of Ye’s daughter, North West. Now, with the release of Ye's new album Bully, Blake is credited on the closing track, "THIS ONE HERE."
Bully was released on streaming services today, a few months after Kanye issued an apology in the Wall Street Journal for his antisemitic behavior. In the statement, he attributed his behavior to bipolar disorder and a previously undiagnosed brain injury and disavowed earlier claims that he was a Nazi. He wrote that he was now committed to "accountability, treatment, and meaningful change."
However, Blake recently announced his desire to have his credit removed from Bully. His reasoning isn't rooted in moral objections, but rather in the fact that his "original version is a completely different production in spirit."
On Vault, a direct-to-fan music platform launched by Blake in 2024, a fan commented, "Ye dropped This One Here with James on the producer credits last night. Really sad that it's all AI vocals — it had lots of potential." Blake responded to the comment:
>The way I pitched his vocals and constructed the track from his freestyle is partially there, majorly peppered with other newervocal takes etc. but the spirit of my actual production is mostly absent other than that. My original version is a completely different production in spirit. Happy for the fans but I've asked to be taken off the producer credits for now as I don't want to take credit for other people's work and this version isn't what I created with Ye
>
>It's not personal! I just hit a point where don't want to be credited on music where I can't affect the end result
"THIS ONE HERE," which credits Don Toliver and Quentin Miller for both writing and production alongside Ye and Blake, initially surfaced in an earlier form on WAR under the title "SHOWTIME," according to leaked recordings from last year. That version featured co-production from No I.D. and appeared to sample Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side."
Ye began teasing Bully in 2024, shortly after he and Ty Dolla $ign released their ¥$ album Vultures 2, and he previewed a few songs on social media and in concert. Talking to influencer Justin LaBoy last year, Ye said the album utilized AI "the same way I incorporated Auto-Tune." He added, “It's time for me to explain to people the power of AI in music." He contradicted that when revealing the tracklist on X earlier this week: "BULLY ON THE WAY NO AI."
Bully was released via YZY and the independent label Gamma. Credited producers besides James Blake include the Legendary Traxster and 88-Keys. In addition to Don Toliver, the features come from Travis Scott, CeeLo Green, André Troutman, and Peso Pluma. There are also vocal appearances from Nine Vicious and Ty Dolla Sign. On Thursday night there were Bully listening parties in four US cities where Ye previewed the album. It was also livestreamed on YouTube.
James Blake's latest album, Trying Times, was released two weeks ago via his own Good Boy Records.
Related Articles
Listen to James Blake on Foxsoundi. Click here to listen!
Comments (0)
Login to comment