Kanye West, who became Ye, has now become Ye Ye. According to legal documents filed by business manager Hussain Lalani and obtained by Page Six, the artist formerly known as Ye — and formerly formerly known as Kanye West — has legally changed his name again, this time to Ye Ye. The filings show that all of his corporate entities, including Yeezy Apparel, Yeezy Record Label, LLC, and Getting Out Our Dreams Inc., now list their owner as Ye Ye.
This isn’t the first time Ye Ye has reshaped his public identity through a name change. In 2018, around the release of Ye, he declared on Twitter, “I am YE.” It stuck — sort of. For the past several years, fans, press, and collaborators have juggled the Kanye/Ye name situation with varying degrees of grace. Ye himself has made it clear that the former name is retired. Most recently, he reportedly walked out of a Piers Morgan interview after being called “Kanye West.” The artist also announced he’d no longer use the @kanyewest Twitter handle, days before wading into the Trump/Elon breakup mess with a post of his own.
As for why Ye Ye now? That’s less clear. Maybe it’s an evolution. Maybe it’s branding. Maybe it’s just a vibe. There’s no official word yet on whether “Ye Ye” is intended as a first-and-last combo or a doubled-down mononym. Also unconfirmed: whether Ye Ye is aware that yé-yé is also a genre of French pop music known for its ‘60s flair, bubblegum hooks, and artists like Françoise Hardy and France Gall. (If not, we’d like to suggest Il jouait du piano debout as an entry point. It’s been described as the “Mr. Brightside” of France.)
In the meantime, start updating your contacts. Ye Ye has arrived.