Mr. West is leaving the building.
The 44-year-old rapper has applied to legally change his name from Kanye Omari West to Ye, according to documents obtained by E! News. In his filing, West simply cited “personal reasons” as the motivating factor behind his decision.
Back in 2018, West expressed his interest in the change, announcing on Twitter that he would be changing his stage name following the release of his Ye album.
At the time, he said in an interview that the moniker held a deeper spiritual meaning. “I believe ‘ye’ is the most commonly used word in the Bible, and in the Bible, it means ‘you.’ 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 confusion, everything. The album is more of a reflection of who we are.”
