KANYE WEST SIGNS WITH GAMMA FOR MARCH BULLY RELEASE

## The Comeback Nobody Saw Coming Ye drops March 20. That's the date for Bully, his 12th studio album, and the first time we'll hear from him since the world watched him torch every bridge in sight. The rapper has inked a partnership deal with the independent music company Gamma, and this isn't just any indie label. Gamma was founded in 2023 by former Apple executive Larry Jackson and record executive Ike Youssef with $1 billion in start-up capital. Ye began recording Bully more than three years ago, even going so far as to release an accompanying short film edited by Hype Williams and starring his son, Saint West, in March 2025. The timeline feels surreal. While the world was canceling him, he was already building his way back. ## Larry Jackson's Power Play Jackson founded the company with particular focus on Black culture, which makes this partnership feel intentional, not desperate. Jackson has longstanding relationships with top music stars like Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and Drake. Jackson has stated his intention to promote diversity, equity and inclusion through Gamma and to run Gamma with closer focus on Black culture than the major labels, while structuring deals that help artists retain ownership. Translation: Ye might actually own his masters this time. The company's initial artists included Usher, Rick Ross, and Snoop Dogg, and later Sexyy Red and French Montana. That's a roster that moves culture, not just units. ## The Apology Timeline Rolling Stone confirmed that Bully was completed before the publication of Ye's recent ad in the Wall Street Journal, where he apologized for his many years of antisemitic and other controversial comments. In January 2026, West published an open letter in The Wall Street Journal as a paid full-page advertisement, saying his outbursts stemmed from manic episodes in which he gravitated toward the swastika as he refused to accept his bipolar disorder diagnosis. The press release promises Bully will capture Ye wrestling with "remorse, memory, ego, faith, and consequence." The album does not double or function as an apology or redemptive effort. He's using music as storytelling, not damage control. ## What This Actually Means This isn't just a record deal. It's Ye betting on the future of music distribution. Gamma debuts as the best capitalized music company competing with the major labels, with Bloomberg reporting about $1 billion available in equity and debt. Gamma competes with major music labels, and acquired the technology platform Vydia in 2022 to facilitate its distribution. They're not playing the old game. They built their own. March 20 isn't just an album release. It's the test of whether talent still trumps controversy, whether Larry Jackson's billion-dollar bet on Black culture can rehabilitate the most polarizing artist alive.