merican rapper and billionaire, Kanye West has filed to legally changed his full name to one of his stage names ‘Ye’.
The rapper, who goes by several pseudonyms such as Pablo, Yeezus, and Yeezy, officially introduced himself as ‘Ye’ via a tweet in September 2018.
“The being formally known as Kanye West…I am YE,” he wrote.
The name ‘Ye’ had also been the title of his album released in June of the same year.
Speaking with radio host, Big Boy, after the release of the album, the father of four revealed that the name held spiritual meaning for him especially at the time when he was getting more grounded in his faith as a Christian.
“I believe ‘ye’ is the most commonly used word in the Bible, and in the Bible, it means ‘you.’ So, I’m you, I’m us, it’s us. It went from Kanye, which means ‘the only one’, to just Ye — just being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confusion, everything. The album is more of a reflection of who we are,” he shared.
According to court documents dated Aug 11 2021, obtained by E! News, West filed the request to legally change his name from Kanye Omari West to just “Ye”. The reason for the change of name was simply stated as “personal”.
The change of name comes in the midst of fans calling for the release of West’s highly anticipated album, Donda. The album named after his mother, Donda West, was slated for release in July but was postponed till this year.
While not releasing the project to streaming services, West has hosted two listening parties for the album with another scheduled for Thursday August 26, in his hometown Chicago.