Kanye West has requested that the music industry stop using him as Kanye West and instead refer to him as Ye West. In 2021, a Los Angeles court approved the rapper’s name change. The Gold Digger singer intended to be free of the “Kanye West” moniker, so Ye West is his legal name.
A source close to West shared that the rapper’s decision to change the name was not casual. Though he is aware of leaving behind the branding that comes along with Kanye West, he thinks of it as a slave name.
Statement Released By Ye’s Team
On February 26th, Ye West’s team released an official statement, mentioning the rapper’s request in the letter. The Yeezy team released the official document, which read, “Ye is one of the most recognizable people in the world, on par with presidents and popes. He didn’t take the decision to change his name, potentially sacrificing some of the immense value captured by the brand ‘Kanye West’ lightly. The change was made fully, legally, and permanently. This is who he is now. His name is Ye.”
It further read, “We are reaching out to streaming platforms, publishers, stores, unions, lyrics websites and data resellers. This change will happen everywhere. Your platform has been identified as one of the most visible places this change may occur, and we passionately hope you will be able to fully and properly reflect the new name and identity of such an enormously influential and historic figure.”
The chief of staff for the Vultures singer, Milo Yiannopoulos, signed the letter.
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Ye West’s Instagram Post
Following the announcement, West took to Instagram to put a post declaring that he was to delete all accounts with the name Kanye West. West wrote a lengthy note for the fans in the caption, which read, “Somebody has Ye as an account. I would like to have my [username], so I can change my account to my legal name. Nobody finna bully nothing. Not no promoters. Not no DSPs. I don’t care. My name is Ye now. [If] you call me Kanye West, then [you’re] calling me out of my name.”
Soon after his post, a representative got in touch with the rapper and resolved the issue.