American rapper and fashion designer, Kanye West has reportedly filed paperwork to change his official name to ‘Ye.’
According to documents obtained by TMZ, the 44-year-old billionaire rapper petitioned Los Angeles courts to change from his present name, Kanye Omari West, to simply ‘Ye’.
The rapper has previously taken pride in his West family roots, as he had often referred to himself as Mr West in both song and person.
However, he intends to change his official name including dropping his middle and last name entirely, according to Los Angeles Superior Court filing.
The court documents are dated 11 August but were not sent into the court system until Tuesday, and cite “personal reasons” for his decision.
The proposed official name is an established nickname the singer has gone by for years, Kanye also used the moniker as the name for his eighth album, released in June 2018.
Then in September 2018, he appeared to suggest he intended to embrace the shortened name, writing in a tweet ahead of his hosting gig on Saturday Night Live: ‘The being formally known as Kanye West. I am YE.’
the being formally known as Kanye West
I am YE
— ye (@kanyewest) September 29, 2018
Now it appears that Kanye West has taken formal steps to make that name change a reality.
He has on time past said that apart from ‘Ye’ being abbreviation of his forename, it is also a word used throughout the Bible.
The name change process must go through review before a judge signs off but it seems promising. California reportedly has pretty ‘lax laws’ when it comes to name changes. Unless it’s for the purpose of fraud or other crimes, a judge typically gives it the green light.
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However, Kanye’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, still has “West” in her surname, even after they filed for divorce earlier this year.
It is not clear if she’ll change her name if the court approves the billionaire’s decision.
The rapper is in the midst of a divorce from the reality television star whom he married in 2014 and shares children North, seven, Saint, five, Chicago, three and two-year-old Psalm.
Read Also: Kanye West Files Divorce Documents, Agrees To Have Joint Custody Of Children With Kim Kardashian
The name change also comes ahead of his stalled upcoming album, Donda, is named after his mother, Donda West, who died at the age of 58 in 2007 from complications after cosmetic surgery.
He has been holding a series of stadium listening parties for his much-hyped forthcoming album Donda, which is scheduled to be released before the end of August. Although a formal release date is still yet to be confirmed.
It was reported in July that he had made himself at home in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium as he finished the record.
Donda is a follow-up to his 2019 gospel album Jesus is King, which won best contemporary Christian music album at the Grammys earlier this year.
Also in preparation for Donda, the All Of The Lights star deleted all of his Instagram posts this week before posting a photo of his childhood home.
He has since uploaded further cryptic photos, all without comment, as fans clamour in his comments, desperate for news of the album’s official drop.
Both his Twitter and Instagram profile names display as ‘Ye’, although the rapper hasn’t tweeted since November 2020, when he ran for US President.
