After a career that spanned more than two decades, Kanye West completely reinvented himself when he adopted his new stage name ‘Ye’. Though it was accepted by his fans and listeners, his original name stuck. And, it seems now, Ye isn’t too happy about it.
In a recent letter, the rapper expressed his dissatisfaction with people continuing to use his old name and urged everyone to call him by his new legal name instead.
Ye Demands People Stop Using His Old ‘Slave’ Name
Milo Yiannopoulos, the chief of staff for Kanye West, wrote a letter insisting that the musician should be addressed as Ye rather than by his “slave name.”
“Ye is one of the most recognizable people in the world, on par with presidents and popes,” the letter reads, according to Page Six.
“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,” it further says.
“He has on several occasions referred to it as his slave name,” the letter continued. “Ye is a black man in America who wants the right to full self-determination just like everyone else.”
Yiannopoulos also urged “streaming platforms, publishers, stores, unions, lyrics websites and data resellers” to put this change into action as they are “the most visible places.”
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Why Did Kanye West Change His Name?
In 2021, the rapper legally changed his name, due to ‘personal reasons’ as cited by him. A spokesman for the Los Angeles Superior Court confirmed that the rapper’s request to change his name was approved by a judge in Los Angeles. In addition to being an abbreviated version of Kanye, his new name also bore religious significance.
“I believe ‘ye’ is the most commonly used word in the Bible, and in the Bible it means you. So it’s I’m you, I’m us, it’s us,” he had said in an interview with radio host Big Boy.
“It went from being Kanye, which means the only one, to just Ye being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confused, our everything,” he added.
Three years after this significant change, people have continued to use his old name- something that has gotten his attention as he urged people to use his new name instead.
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