The repeated delays to Kanye West’s tenth studio album, Donda, have left many fans wondering what he’s been up to in the interim, and now we have some answers. According to new court documents, it seems that at least some of his time has been taken up with filing paperwork to officially change his name.
A new filing with the Los Angeles Superior Court shows that the rapper is aiming to shorten his full name — Kanye Omari West — to the mononymous “Ye”. All that’s left is for a judge to approve the request, which cites “personal reasons” as the cause for the name change.
Of course, the name itself is nothing new. In 2018, it was used as the title for his eighth studio album, and reappeared later that year as the subject of a (sort of) announcement on Twitter: “The being formally known as Kanye West. I am YE.”
More recently, Kanye’s — or Ye’s — social media presence has included Instagram posts showing everything from a screenshot of his beef with Drake, to artworks by Damien Hirst (all of which have since been deleted). Last week (August 21), he also posted an image of his childhood home, which he’s since been spotted reconstructing at Chicago’s Soldier Field, where he’ll hold his third Donda listening event.
Set to take place on August 26, the upcoming event follows an emotional listening party held at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz stadium in July. A subsequent listening party at the same venue, directed by Balenciaga’s Demna Gvasalia, took place earlier this month (take a look at Dazed’s rundown here).
The album’s third live outing won’t require a COVID vaccination for entry, but, as before, fans will be offered a chance to get jabbed on the night. Let’s hope that more than four people take Ye up on the offer this time around.
Needless to say, Donda has failed to materialise as expected after both previous events, so take claims that the album will “100 per cent” drop on Friday with a pinch of salt.