‘He didn’t take the decision to change his name lightly’
Kanye West has demanded that the music industry start calling him Ye instead of his “slave name.”
Back in October 2021, the rapper legally changed his name to Ye, citing “personal reasons” for the name change.
But despite making legally changing his name, many still refer to the 46-year-old as Kanye West or simply Kanye.
Now, his chief of staff Milo Yiannopoulos has urged the music industry to respect the rapper’s wishes and stop referring to him by his “slave name.”
In a letter obtained by Page Six, the alt-right political commentator wrote: “Ye is one of the most recognizable people in the world, on par with presidents and popes.
“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.”
Yiannopoulos called for “streaming platforms, publishers, stores, unions, lyrics websites and data resellers” to change how they refer to West as they are some of “the most visible places.”
He went on to say that West has “on several occasions” referred to Kanye West as “his slave name.”
“Ye is a black man in America who wants the right to full self-determination just like everyone else,” Yiannopoulos added.
The name is one West has voiced his love for since 2018, when he released an album of the same name.
Speaking to radio host Big Boy that year, he explained why he’d taken the word to heart.
He said: “I believe ‘ye’ is the most commonly used word in the Bible. In the Bible it means you. So, I’m you. And I’m us. It’s us.
“It went from being Kanye, which means the only one to just Ye, just being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confused – everything. It’s more of a reflection of who we are [as] beings.”
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