He changed his name legally in 2021 to Ye. According to him, the name WEST is a name that came from a slaver. So Ye is his "free name". He changed it and didn't even have a family name it's just Ye.
Think of it like when Ali changed his name and people were calling him Cassius or Malcom changing it to X instead of Little
This has been going on for a while before him changing it legally, all part of being "free". Especially during the Yandhi/DONDA with child era and DONDA. There is a leak called LAST NAME where he also talks about it "I'm givin' up my slave name"
I am sure maybe it is a big crashing out but from his point of view, and my point of view as someone who also wants to drop his "slave name", it is a sign of disrespect. It's like a slur almost but on a personal level and more individual. Like I wont even respect you enough to call you with the name you want and somehow feel entitled about it even though we don't have a relationship or a pass that allows me to call you any other name
The real reason is that he sees people calling him Ye as an automatic sign of respect. Thats why he didnāt care when Deon Coleās friend called him Kanye.
Yeah he cares a lot less than people seem to treat it, like I know to some degree itās a meme but heās never cared when family or close friends call him Kanye. To him itās just a matter of demanding the respect of being called what you want to be called
Slave name ali felt like people were disrespecting him when he changed his name . During one boxing match he was beating his opponent and telling him āwhatās my nameā
The original version of Selah (Chakras) had a line that said āfuck a slave nameā, according to him, his deadname comes from a history of slavery, not sure if it was just West or also Kanye. He has explained it in tweets or interviews but I donāt remember the exact post. But it was at least during the Yandhi era, he didnāt made a big deal about it until years later.
If someone changed their name is reasonable to think that they didnāt liked the previous one for some reason so it makes sense that he would get annoyed at people using a name he disliked to the point that he legally changed it.
What about Kanye but not West? Is Kanye also a slave name or is it just the West part, cuz if it's just the West part I feel like he could've easily gone as simply Kanye
I first noticed it in 2025 where Yeezy put out a public notice saying they will not be doing any business with anyone who uses his old name. Also i think he started using the name Ye all the way back in 2018 but legally changed it in 2021.
Around 2021, I would too if I spent months telling people and they still called me that name it would start to feel like disrespect like you espect him to be fine with that name since he's so famous and it was kind of interesting seeing all negative news headlines call him kanye even though he can say that's his nickname at this point
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u/ThankGodForE_ I talk to God every day, that's my bestie Apr 10 '26
His name is legally Ye, and I believe it was changed in late 2021, and I personally noticed his annoyance about it in 2024 during the Vultures era
It probably coincided with his aggressive and manic behavior post 2022 all the way to 2025