Oh, Ye of little names.
Like Madonna, Prince and Cher, Kanye West will now be known by a mononym. The Grammy-winning musician has officially shortened his moniker to “Ye,” and the “yay”-sounding nickname is court-approved.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michelle Williams on Monday granted the rapper’s August name-change petition, which also eliminates his middle and last names, Omari and West, respectively.
In his filing, the 44-year-old stated that he was making the change for “personal reasons.” Since there were no objections to the petition, it was granted Monday without a hearing, The Times confirmed. A copy of the signed decree will be available in court in a week.
Ye already released an eponymous album by the same name in 2018 and declared he’d go by the mononym in a tweet that year: ‘the being formally known as Kanye West. I am YE,” he wrote back then.
“Ye,” his eighth studio album, arrived amid one of many bizarre chapters that have shaped West’s career in recent years. He’s taken on a religious transformation, split from reality-star wife Kim Kardashian, launched a failed run for U.S. president and released his latest album, “Donda.”
In 2018, he told radio host Big Boy that he believes “ye,” which means “you,” is the most commonly used word in the Bible.
“So I’m you, I’m us, it’s us. It went from Kanye, which means the only one, to just Ye — just being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confused, everything,” he said.
Ye’s attorney who filed the petition did not immediately respond Monday to a request for additional comment.
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