Kanye West asks LA court to legally change name to Ye

Kanye West has formally requested to change his name to Ye, according to a report by TMZ.

Born Kanye Omari West, the acclaimed rapper and producer filed for the name change on Tuesday, August 24th.

In the filing with Los Angeles Superior Court, West aims to distil his full name to just Ye, with no other first name or surname, citing “personal reasons”. A judge will now need to approve the filing

Back in 2018, West alluded to his plans to change his name formally to ‘Ye’ in a tweet, which read: “Formally known as Kanye West. I am YE."

Explaining the change in a radio interview that year, he 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 also the title of the studio album he released that year.

West is expected to share his tenth studio album, Donda, this week following a playback of it at Soldier Field in his native Chicago on Thursday. Fans reacted with frustration to the news that West is holding another Donda listening party, pushing the release date back another week.

The album has been anticipated for weeks, ever since he staged another playback event in an Atlanta sports arena on 22 July.

He continued to work on the album in a makeshift studio and living space in the arena, recreating his childhood home within Soldier Field. Donda West purchased the South Shore house in the 1980s and sold it in 2004. Last year, Kanye bought it back for $225,000.

Looks like Kanye is building a replica of his childhood home in the middle of Chicago's Soldier Field.

Donda West purchased the South Shore house in the 1980s and sold it in 2004. Last year, Kanye bought it back for $225,000. pic.twitter.com/p8Utayxw37

— Pigeons & Planes (@PigsAndPlans) August 24, 2021