"Father" is a song by the American rappers Kanye West and Travis Scott. It was released on March 28, 2026, through YZY and Gamma, as the lead single from West's twelfth studio album, Bully. West and Scott produced the track alongside Sheffmade, André Troutman, Scott's frequent collaborator Jahaan Sweet, Che "Fuego 3000" Pope, and Just da 1, with the latter two also collectively known as 2 Vicious.
In 2025, West and Scott's relationship strained when the former posted controversial statements on his X account, accusing the latter for taking credit from his own work and dismissing his statements of being "family". They later reconciled when West made a surprise appearance at Scott's concert in Japan that November. The following month, a Beats Electronics ad with Scott was released, containing a snippet of an untitled song, which was later reported to be "Father".
The day prior to the release of Bully, "Father" was fully revealed at a California listening party. The song was also accompanied with a music video directed by West's wife, Bianca Censori. Featuring sci-fi and religious elements, it features West attending a church with other unusual characters for Scott's wedding to two women, including a Michael Jackson impersonator sitting in the background. The song received positive reviews from music critics.
West maintained a long professional relationship with Scott since the latter worked on the former's compilation album, Cruel Summer (2012). Throughout the years, they collaborated on the singles "Champions" (2016) and "Wash Us in the Blood" (2020), with West appearing on Scott's Rodeo (2015) and "Watch" (2018), while Scott appeared on Donda (2021), Vultures 1, and the deluxe edition of Vultures 2 (2024). West also contributed production to Scott's album Utopia (2023), which featured reworkings of multiple songs originally from Donda.
Starting in February 2025, West's relationship with Scott strained when the latter seemingly unfollowed the former on Twitter following controversial posts from supporting Sean Combs to various antisemitic statements. West later accused Scott of stealing credit from his songs recorded in the Wyoming sessions in 2018 and dismissed Scott's comments of calling him "family". In November, they reconciled when West made a surprise appearance at Scott's concert in Tokyo, Japan as part of the latter's Circus Maximus Tour, performing various songs from "Can't Tell Me Nothing" (2007) to "All of the Lights" (2010).
In February 2026, record producer Havoc revealed to Complex that West had been working on a collaborative album with Scott. The same month, it was announced that both would headline the Hellwatt Festival in Italy on July 17 and 18. A few days prior to the release of Bully (2026), a Beats Electronics ad from December 2025 featuring Scott resurfaced online. During the last seconds of the ad, a snippet of an untitled track plays in the background, which would later be revealed as "Father". On March 27, Ye premiered a livestream of the Bully listening party in Inglewood through YouTube an hour after midnight, featuring a guest appearance from Scott. Hours after its release, West removed the livestream from public view on YouTube. On March 28, a day after its intended release, the album was released to streaming services.
"Father" introduces itself with angelic church organs as it relies on a vocal sample from gospel singer Johnnie Frierson. The song blends a gospel influence with "hard-hitting momentum" that relies on "heavy synth bass" and industrial drums. West describes his new sense of self on his verse. Scott later appears on the song's second verse with "a faster flow and a more clear vocal tone" while giving a shoutout to Nike, thanks to his long association with the athletic shoe brand. As well as recounting his upbringing from rough neighborhoods to the riches of Malibu.
On March 28, 2026, the music video to "Father" was released on YouTube, which was directed by West's wife Bianca Censori, her directorial debut. A single-shot music video, it takes place in a minimalist church, with West, "dressed in a gray suit and stone-colored cowboy boots" sporting a straight face, and other attendees from elderly women to nuns appearing in the background. As the song begins, a series of bizarre events occur, including when an attendant's card tricks evolve into flames before a police squad, next to a plate-armored knight on horseback, arrive to arrest a nun and carry her out of the church, and a pageant queen is carried down the aisle.
Later on, two astronauts arrive to unmask West as an extraterrestrial alien before carrying him out of the church, right before Scott appears in his wedding to two women. Throughout the music video's chaos, much of the attendees appear unbothered. Concluding the music video, most of the attendees leave the church, as a man enters with a large wooden crucifix and sits in West's spot. Thematically, it ranges from sci-fi elements involving aliens, UFOs, and astronauts, to religious imagery with a dancing choir group and crucifix, along with a knight on horseback. The music video also includes an uncredited individual sitting in the background who resembles Michael Jackson, later confirmed to be impersonator Fabio Jackson after he reposted content about the video on Instagram.
Michael Saponara of Billboard ranked "Father" the fifth best track from Bully, commenting that Scott was one of the few major recording artists to "not turn their back on West in recent years." Preezy Brown of Rolling Stone also ranked it as the fifth best track from the album, comparing the rappers' chemistry to "Otis" (2011). Gabriel Bras Nevares of HotNewHipHop considered the song to be "one of the big highlights" on the album. However, Zakaria Mafa of Stanisland considers its production as unclear and its lyrics as shallow.