US rapper Kanye West has filed court documents to officially change his name to be known simply as Ye.
According to the Los Angeles Superior Court filing, the 44-year-old wants to change his full name, Kanye Omari West to his longtime two-letter nickname, Ye, with no middle or last name.
The documents, which are dated August 11 but were not received by the court system until Tuesday, cite “personal reasons” for the change. An email sent to the attorney who filed the documents seeking comment was not immediately returned.
West, who has referred to himself as Ye on social media for years, tweeted in 2018 that he wanted the change, saying, “The being formally known as Kanye West. My name is YE.”
His 2018 album was also titled with the same moniker. He has stated in interviews that, in addition to being a shortening of his favourite first name, it is a word found throughout the Bible.
On the work front, the star is due to release his next album, named after his mother Donda, imminently, although it has already been delayed a number of times. He is also in the midst of a divorce from Kim Kardashian and has expressed an intention to run for US president in 2024 after attracting 60,000 votes in 2020.
