Update: Kanye West is officially no longer Kanye West. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michelle Williams Court has approved the rapper's petition to have his name changed from Kanye Omari West to "Ye," with no middle name or last name, Deadline reports. In an August filing, Ye said he wanted to change his legal name to his longstanding nickname for "personal reasons." His wife Kim Kardashian West, who filed for divorce in February, is still using the West name for now. Our original story from Aug. 24 follows:
Kanye just wants to be Ye. Kanye West filed court documents Tuesday to legally change his name, the AP reports. The Los Angeles Superior Court filing says the 44-year-old wants to get rid of his full name—Kanye Omari West—in favor of just his longtime two-letter nickname, Ye, with no middle name or last name. The documents, dated Aug. 11 but not sent into the court system until Tuesday, cite “personal reasons” for the change. An email seeking comment from the attorney who filed the documents was not immediately returned. A judge must approve of the change before it becomes official.
West, who has called himself Ye on his social media for years, tweeted that he wanted the change in 2018, saying, “being formally known as Kanye West. I am YE.” The moniker was also the title of his 2018 album. He has said in interviews that, along with being a shortening of his first name, he likes that it's a word used throughout the Bible. West is in the middle of a divorce with Kim Kardashian West, who did not ask that her last name be changed back to just Kardashian when she filed to split from him in February. The couple's four children also have his last name. More of the latest Ye news:
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- New album: He has been holding a series of stadium listening parties for his forthcoming 10th studio album Donda, which is scheduled to be released before the end of August. Kardashian West has been in attendance to show her support, ET reports.
- New house, sorta: For an upcoming listening party, the artist unofficially known as Ye has been reconstructing his childhood home with mother Donda West in Chicago's Soldier Field, where the event will be held, Yahoo News reports. He purchased the actual Chicago home in 2019 and has been renovating it.
- New romance ends: Ye had been dating Irina Shayk, but sources tell E! the relationship was over almost as soon as it began. "He got very busy with work, and they were in different places. It kind of fizzled out from there. They are still friendly and there's a lot of mutual respect," one says. The same apparently can be said for Ye and Kardashian West, who are said to be on good terms and co-parenting their four kids well.
- Not-new feud: Ye and fellow rapper Drake have been feuding for a dozen years now, and the fight is back in the headlines after Ye appeared to post, then delete, Drake's address on Instagram. BuzzFeed explains more here.
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