Kanye West is in the midst of a divorce from Kim Kardashian (courtesy kanyethegoatwest)
Highlights
- The rapper cited "personal reasons" in the paperwork he filed
- Kanye has been known by many names, including Yeezy and Yeezus
- He had also tweeted his intent to change his name back in 2018
Kanye West is ditching half his name and has filed the paperwork to legally be known as Ye, a name he already goes by in his social media accounts. E! News accessed court documents filed by the rapper in which he applied to change his name from Kanye Omari West to simply Ye, a nickname he has used for some years now. The 44-year-old musician cited "personal reasons" in the paperwork he filed; a judge is still to sign off. Kanye has been known by many names in his career, including Ye, Yeezy and Yeezus.
Ye is the name of Kanye's 2018 album and he explained in a radio interview that the word held religious meaning. "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 told radio host Big Boy before his album released, People reports.
Kanye West, who is in the midst of a divorce from Kim Kardashian, also tweeted his intent to change his name back in 2018, writing, "The being formally (sic) known as Kanye West. I am YE."
Twitter is eye-rolling over having reached peak Kanye:
The moniker change to Ye is the latest of several headlines Kanye West has made recently, from a hotly-anticipated Donda the release of which is shrouded in mystery despite sold-out previews to an upcoming concert in Chicago where no vaccines or negative COVID tests will be required. His long-running feud with Drake also continues.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, who have four children, announced their decision to divorce in February. Kanye, who ran for the White House last year, recently ended a romance with supermodel Irina Shayk.