US rapper Kanye West files papers to change his name to ‘Ye,’ says he was inspired by the Bible

American rapper, Kanye West, has filed court papers to have his name legally changed to Ye, the Daily Mail of UK reported on Wednesday.

A lawyer for the rapper filed a petition to change Kanye’s name from his birth name of Kanye Omari West to Ye.

Kanye, 44, cited ‘personal’ reasons behind his decision to change his name in legal documents. He, however, did not provide any other details.

The rapper, who has used the moniker as a nickname for years, named his eighth studio album Ye and even goes by the abbreviated title on Twitter.

The filing was done in Los Angeles, according to TMZ, which claimed Kanye’s request would be approved by a judge considering the rules surrounding name changes in the state of California. Judges ordinarily approve name changes so long as no evidence exists that the new moniker will be used to commit fraud.

Kanye once revealed that he was inspired by the Holy Bible over the name ye because it was the most commonly used word in the Bible.

“I believe ‘Ye’ is the most commonly used word in the Bible and in the Bible, it means ‘You,’ he said.

“So I’m you, I’m us, it’s us. It went from Kanye, which means the only one, to just Ye – just being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confused, everything. The name is more of a reflection of who we are,” he added.

The name change comes just days before the release of Kanye’s next album Donda on Friday, August 27.