Did Taylor Swift just give Kanye West a little inspo on how to pull off a major comeback?
Maybe. Kanye, who now goes by the name Ye, seems to be taking a page straight out of his longtime rival’s playbook before the release of his long-awaited album, Bully.
The American rapper, who earlier this year raised eyebrows with his unfiltered rants on X, controversial red-carpet moment with wife Bianca Censori, and questionable public sightings, has been completely off the grid for months.
While his wife’s been back in the spotlight as she was seen out and about in Australia just last week and has been promoting her new fashion line on social media, the Heartless hitmaker is still MIA.
A calculated silence?
Perhaps Kanye’s disappearance isn’t random at all, instead it’s giving Swift vibes, reminiscent of her strategic vanishing act before dropping her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl.
After wrapping up her record-breaking Eras Tour, she gave no interviews, ran zero personal promotions, and was completely off the radar.
No sightings, no social media posts, not even a hint of her whereabouts except her engagement announcement.
She even attended her best friend Selena Gomez’s wedding and fiance Travis Kelce’s game in total secrecy.
Then, when TS12 dropped, it unleashed a flood with Swift appearing on every other show, interviews and video.
Just as Taylor used mystery to create curiosity, Kanye’s silence could be doing the same thing, setting the stage for his perfectly orchestrated media takeover interestingly that too right before the release of his 12th album.
Could Kanye be doing the same?
Kanye might be following in her footsteps, disappearing to amplify anticipation.
Kanye’s silence is creating serious hype in a way that the lack of content has become content itself with fans wondering Where is Kanye? What is he upto?
In recent months, the rapper has gone completely off the radar: no press, no major social media activity, just an upsetting update on Bully release.
The album’s release date has been pushed back- again. Now, according to an updated countdown on Spotify it will drop on December 12.
For someone who once fed on public attention and headlines, this quietness feels anything but accidental.
If Swift’s approach was all about strategic mystery, Kanye’s might be controlled unpredictability, a way of resetting the narrative and letting curiosity make the path
Interestingly, the saga between Taylor Swift and Kanye West is one of the most legendary pop-culture storylines of the 21st century.
Here’s a quick rundown of how they went from foes to fleeting friends and back to rivals:
2009 MTV Video Music Awards:
Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video (“You Belong With Me”) to say that Beyoncé had “one of the best videos of all time.” It became a viral controversy and defined both artists’ public images for years.
2010–2015:
They appeared to reconcile publicly as Kanye apologized, and by 2015 they were seen talking and even joking together at award shows.
2016:
The feud reignited when Kanye released Famous, in which he referred to Taylor with the lyric “I made that b***h famous.”
Taylor objected, saying she hadn’t approved the line. Kanye’s then-wife Kim Kardashian later posted edited clips of a phone call suggesting Taylor had known about it, leading to huge public backlash against Taylor.
2020:
The full, unedited call leaked, showing Taylor hadn’t heard the controversial lyric in advance, shifting public opinion back in her favor.
Since then, from reclaiming her masters through her Taylor’s Version albums to breaking records on the Eras Tour, Taylor has rebuilt her image with enormous success.
Meanwhile, Kanye’s career has gone through controversy, public backlash, and attempts at reinvention.
Kanye West’s Recent and Upcoming Projects:
Bully, West’s upcoming solo album, which has faced multiple delays, is currently scheduled to be released on December 12, 2025. Several tracks, including “Beauty and the Beast” and “Preacher Man,” were released as EPs earlier this year.
In 2024, West and Ty Dolla released the collaborative albums Vultures 1 and Vultures 2.
Donda 2: aka the “lost album,” originally from 2022, was officially released to streaming services under the artist name “Donda” on April 29, 2025.
In Whose Name?: A documentary film about West’s life and public controversies, titled In Whose Name?, was released in theaters in September 2025.