The executive behind Ye's risky comeback tour

Larry Jackson's efforts have boosted Ye to his strongest sales in years

- Agencies

On 25 March, Larry Jackson invited executives from Spotify and Apple Music to the Southern California home of Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West. Ye was finishing work on a new album, Bully, which Jackson wanted to play for a handful of industry tastemakers.

Major streaming services had been wary of being in business with Ye since he released a song called Heil Hitler in May 2025, the culmination of years of offensive public outbursts. Jackson hoped that this intimate listening session would convince them to support Bully.

As the executives sat in Ye's Beverly Hills mansion, their resistance softened. The 18 tracks sounded like a normal album, not an anti semitic screed. Apple Music put Ye on the cover of Rap Life, its flagship hip-hop playlist. Spotify featured the song Father on Today's Top Hits, a playlist with more than 35 million followers.