Kanye West Legally Changes Name to ‘Ye’
The artist formerly known as Kanye West also revealed a bold new hairstyle.
Billionaire hip hop mogul and outgoing Kardashian in-law Kanye West is no longer Kanye Omari West. He’s just “Ye” now.
The name change, which he reportedly applied for in August 2021, was granted Monday by a Los Angeles judge. So anyone wondering if the rapper was just having a bad day when he declared on Twitter in 2018 that “the being [formerly] known as Kanye West” was “YE” need no longer wonder—he definitely meant to do that.
While the man once known as Kanye said in his court application that he was making the change for “personal reasons,” The Guardian reports that the newly-minted Ye explained in 2018 why he made such a major change:
Explaining the change in a radio interview that year, the then-West had said: “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.” He said his name “went from Kanye, which means the only one, to just Ye – just being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confused, everything.” Ye was the title of the studio album he released that year.
The artist now known as Ye has toyed with different name changes in the past. CNN notes that “in 2019, West suggested he might legally change his name to ‘Christian Genius Billionaire Kanye West’ for a little bit.”
If nothing else, “Ye” is much easier to fit on a driver’s license.
The former West is still in the process of divorcing Kim Kardashian. They have four kids together, but there is no sign that the children will drop their father’s last name.
Ye didn’t just make a name change—he also revealed a curious new hairstyle, seen in the tweet above, and was recently spotted sporting a freaky off-white mask that seems best suited for Halloween.
In other words, just another week in the wild life of Kanye West–er, excuse us, “Ye.”
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