Ye, The Artist Formerly Known As Kanye West, Seems A Bit Peeved That The World Won’t Adhere To His Name Change

You may know Kanye West as a Grammy Award-winning rapper, chart-topping producer, and clothing designer, but that’s who he “used to be.” From this point forward and in perpetuity, he will hence be referred to as Ye. Well, technically, this isn’t entirely new information, as he legally made the switch back in August 2021.

However, he’s been lax in enforcing it professionally. But that changes today (March 23). In a letter shared by his team (dated February 26), the “Carnival” musician’s chief of staff, Milo Yiannopoulos, made it clear that Ye’s quite peeved that the public won’t adhere to the name change.

“He didn’t take the decision to change his name, potentially sacrificing some of the immense value captured by the brand ‘Kanye West,’ lightly,” he wrote. “The change was made fully, legally, and permanently. This is who he is now. His name is Ye.”

The strongly worded note did not stop there. Later in the document, it touched on America’s history involving chattel slavery. “He has on several occasions referred to it as his slave name,” he wrote. “Ye is a Black man in America who wants the right to full self-determination just like everyone else.”

Read the complete statement below.