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Kanye West legally changed his name to “Ye” in 2021, citing “personal reasons” in the court documents. Back then, the Flashing Lights rapper made headlines after headlines for ditching his famous name. Recently, West’s chief of staff, Milo Yiannopoulos, released a letter on behalf of the 46-year-old rapper calling out the music industry to call his boss Ye. Yiannopoulos also explained in the letter why West chose to forego his former stage name.
Why does Kanye West want people to call him Ye?
In the letter obtained by Page Six, the staff of Praise God rapper said, “Ye is one of the most recognizable people in the world, on par with presidents and popes.” Yiannopoulos continued, “He didn’t take the decision to change his name, potentially sacrificing some of the immense value captured by the brand of ‘Kanye West,’ lightly. The change was made fully, legally, and permanently. This is who he is now. His name is Ye.”
He went on to say, “We are reaching out to streaming platforms, publishers, stores, unions, lyrics websites and data resellers,” adding, “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.”
Revealing the reason behind West’s preference for being called “Ye,” his chief of staff added, “He [West] has on several occasions referred to it as his slave name. Ye is a Black man in America who wants the right to full self-determination just like everyone else.” The All of the Lights rapper first teased his new name in 2018 with the release of his eponymous album, Ye. He even took to X, formerly Twitter, to say that he was “formerly known as Kanye West.”
