‘Kanye West’ Is A ‘Slave Name’: Ye Demands Everyone Use His New Moniker

Kanye West wants people to stop using his "slave name" and refer to him only as Ye.

His chief of staff made the demand in a letter released three years after the 46-year-old rapper legally changed his name from Kanye Omari West to Ye.

"Ye is one of the most recognizable people in the world, on par with presidents and popes," Milo Yiannopoulos wrote in the letter, as quoted by Page Six.

According to the letter, the Yeezy founder "didn't take the decision to change his name, potentially sacrificing some of the immense value captured by the brand of 'Kanye West,' lightly."

Yiannopoulos emphasized that the name change was "made fully, legally, and permanently," adding: "This is who he is now. His name is Ye."

The chief of staff specifically called on the "most visible places," including streaming platforms, publishers, stores, unions, lyrics websites, and data resellers, to refer to the rapper as Ye.

According to the note, the "Gold Digger" hitmaker has repeatedly called "Kanye West" his "slave name" and now "wants the right to full self-determination just like everyone else."

Ye received official approval to legally change his name in October 2021, People reported, citing Los Angeles Superior Court documents.

He filed to legally change his name two months prior, citing "personal reasons." He did not specify what these reasons were.

Following the release of his "Ye" album in 2018, the rapper revealed that he decided to use the moniker as his stage name, noting that it has religious significance to him.

"I believe 'ye' is the most commonly used word in the Bible, and in the Bible, it means 'you.' So I'm you, I'm us, it's us," Ye said in an interview with radio host Big Boy at the time regarding his self-named album.

He added, "It went from Kanye, which means the only one, to just Ye -- just being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confusion, everything. The album is more of a reflection of who we are."

Ye previously referred to West as his "slave name" in his song "Last Name," which was first teased in 2018 and fully leaked the following year.

According to the lyrics published by Genius, he seemingly suggested in the song that his family's last name came from slave owners.

"West stole West, simply got shame / Givin' up, I'm givin' up my slave name," Ye rapped in "Last Name."

"I'm givin' up the slave name / It's a choice for me," he added.

In the track, he also addressed his two oldest children, North and Saint, telling them, "You don't really need a last name."

Ye shares North, 10, Saint, 8, Chicago, 6, and Psalm, 4, with ex-wife Kim Kardashian.