Kanye West is entering a new era in his life as he asks a judge to legally change his name ahead of the third Donda listening party.
Kanye West has gone by many names since becoming an artist, but now, he wants to officially be known as Ye.
According to Aug. 11 court documents obtained by E! News, the rapper filed a request to change his name from Kanye Omari West to just “Ye”. He stated in the filing that he wants to make the change for “personal reasons.”
Kim Kardashian’s estranged husband first gave himself the nickname back in 2018, ahead of an appearance on Saturday Night Live. He tweeted, “The being formally known as Kanye West…I am YE.”
At the time, he said in an interview that the moniker held a deeper spiritual 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.”
The album Ye came out months before he was scheduled to share the Yahndi album. Ultimately, that project was seemingly shelved, with Kanye putting out Jesus Is King in October 2019.
If this is giving fans déja vu, there’s good reason. His loyal followers are still waiting for him to share his latest project, Donda, which was initially scheduled for release on July 23.
Rather than release the album on streaming platforms, Kanye has chosen to host listening parties across the United States. He’s put on two events in Atlanta, Georgia so far, and is slated to hold his latest gathering in his hometown of Chicago on Aug. 26.
According to a tweet from Chicago newscaster Sarah Jindra, the rapper is having his team build a life-size replica of his childhood home inside the Soldier Field stadium where he’s scheduled to perform.
If all goes according to plan, fans of Kanye/Pablo/Yeezy/Yeezus/Mr. West/Ye will be able to listen to Donda when it’s released on Friday.
