Kanye West: Rapper changes his name to Ye
- Published
The artist's new album Yandhi is due to be released on Saturday
Rapper Kanye West is changing his name - to Ye.
Announcing the change on Twitter on Saturday, he wrote: "The being formally [sic] known as Kanye West. I am YE."
West, 41, has been nicknamed Ye for some time and used the moniker as the title for his eighth album, which was released in June.
The change came ahead of his appearance on Saturday Night Live, where he was expected to launch his new album Yandhi.
He replaced singer Ariana Grande on the show who cancelled for "emotional reasons", external, the show's creator said.
As well as being an abbreviation of his current professional name, West has previously said the word has religious significance for him.
"I believe 'ye' is the most commonly used word in the Bible, external, and in the Bible it means 'you,'" West said earlier this year, discussing his album title with radio host Big Boy.
"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. The album is more of a reflection of who we are."
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
He is one of a number of famous rappers to change their name.
Sean Combs has been variously known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy or Diddy, but this year announced his preference for the names Love and Brother Love.
A former West collaborator, JAY-Z, has also made do with or without a hyphen and capitals.
- Published30 August 2018
- Published10 August 2018
- Published26 April 2018
- Published26 April 2018
- Published18 November 2016
