Kanye West Officially Changes His Name - Here's Why

Culture

| LAST UPDATE 10/24/2021

By Alexa Alves
kanye west ye name
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Sorry folks - it looks like it's officially time to say goodbye to Kanye West. That's right, the rapper will be going by a new identity now: 'Ye. From the court-approved order to the reasoning behind it, here's what we know about his latest move.

kanye west name updates
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Before we break things down, let's backtrack for a second - it all started on August 24, when the rapper first requested to make the name change official. As court documents revealed, West's appeal had him keeping things as mysterious as possible - something 'Ye does best: according to his paperwork, his decision was based off of "personal reasons." Aaand something tells us that's about as much as we'll ever get out of him...

kanye west name change
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As for what now? It's actually quite simple: Kanye Omari West is now "Ye." Yep. No middle name. No last name. Just... 'Ye. "There being no objections, the petition for change of name is granted," Judge Michelle Williams Court explained of the court decision. But while things have only been made official now, West's 'Ye's name change was actually a long time in the making.

kanye news name change
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In case you forgot, the signs have actually all been there for years now. Of course, we're talking about the rapper's Twitter, which has been nothing short of, um, entertaining throughout the years. Back in 2018, the Donda rapper took to the platform to first announce the big plans: "the being formally known as Kanye West. I am YE," he declared. A+ for consistency, we'll give him that...

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Does this mean he's ready to ditch his "Christian Genius Billionaire" title? Will 'Ye also be hailed as "the New Moses?" So many questions. But while we guess only time will tell here, we do know this: 'Ye is a man of many surprises, and we've got a feeling there's lots more where that came from. Pop on over to the rapper's official Twitter account to see what all the hype (and head scratching) is about for yourself.

And of course, make sure to stay tuned for all the latest updates.