The US rapper who now calls himself Ye repeated his support for President Donald Trump during his performance on Saturday Night Live. He also posted controversial tweets calling for the abolition of the 13th amendment.
Image: picture-alliance/Newscom
Advertisement
Called to serve as a last-minute replacement on Saturday Night Live, Kanye West closed the show with a performance of a track off his latest album, Ye, wearing one of President Donald Trump's signature "Make America Great Again" red caps.
After the live show ended, West stayed on the microphone and gave an impromptu speech about politics, again voicing his support for the president.
"So many times I talk to a white person about this and they say, 'How could you like Trump? He's racist,'" West said, according to footage posted on Instagram by comedian Chris Rock. "Well, if I was concerned about racism, I would have moved out of America a long time ago."
Throughout the videos, Rock can be heard laughing and whispering "oh my God" while the audience boos West.
The US president himself paid tribute Kanye West's act on Twitter. In his typical style, he belittled SNL as "just a political ad for the Dems" while bragging that he once hosted the show.
Enigmatic posts on the 13th amendment
West further repeated his support for Trump's policies in a tweet to his 28.5 million followers posted on Sunday. It shows him sitting in a private plane once again wearing a MAGA cap.
The post controversially states "abolish the 13th amendment," referring to the Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that outlines the abolition of slavery.
An hour later, West added in another tweet, "the 13th Amendment is slavery in disguise meaning it never ended."
The rapper finally appeared to backtrack on his statement another hour later, writing "not abolish but. let's amend the 13th amendment."
Some commentators have pointed out that a part of the 13th amendment also allows prisons to use inmates for slave labor, as demonstrated in Ava Duvernay's 2016 Netflix documentary, 13th; West was perhaps referring to this aspect of the amendment.
The artist formally known as Ye
Before appearing on Saturday Night Live, the rapper also announced he was changing his name on Twitter. "The being formally (sic) known as Kanye West," he wrote in a post, adding, "I am YE." While he changed his Twitter name to Ye, his handle remained @kanyewest.
An artist by any other name...
Many musicians take on a stage name at the start of their career; some even switch their names over the years. There are a few reasons why: changing religion, an argument with the record company or pure boredom.
The controversial rapper has different nicknames, such as Yeezy or Pablo. "Ye," the title of his eighth album released in June, was another one of them. He "officialized" the change by switching his Twitter and and Instagram name to "ye," tweeting:
"the being formally [sic] known as Kanye West... I am YE."
Image: picture alliance/AP Images/C.Pizzello
Starts with a P – perhaps
Puff Daddy was the name of a young producer who made his way into the rap empire in the 1990s. Sean Combs, the man behind the name as well as the record company, Bad Boy, likewise launched his own clothing line under the moniker Sean John. Those are just a few of his many aliases, which also include: P. Diddy, Diddy, Puffy, Swag – and most recently, Love or Brother Love.
The singer Prince, who used his given first name when launching his music career, went on to change his stage name out of protest against his-then label, Warner. In 1993, he dropped the name, replacing it with a symbol and asked that people refer to him as "The Artist formerly known as Prince." He returned to Prince in 2000.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Hilton
A return to the original
The British singer made her debut as Lily Allen but after marrying, she took on her first and middle name followed by her husband's last name in 2012 to become Lily Rose Cooper. That same year she sang the duet "True Love" with Pink. Unsure if her fans would recognize her, the singer released her 2014 album "Sheezus" once again under the name Lily Allen.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Grant
From a Snoop to just plain Dogg
Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr. has undergone a number of name changes since first taking to the stage in 1993 with his breakthrough album, "Doggystyle." The California rapper who went by the name of Snoop Doggy Dogg asked to be called Snoop Lion in 2012, when he crossed over to reggae. That changed when he released funk music under the nomenclature Snoopzilla. In 2015, he returned to his roots.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/D. De Slover
A mega-star goes unknown
In the rap business, names can make or break you. There's hardly a rapper who takes the stage under his real name, including Dante Terrell Smith, who rose to fame as Mos Def in the late 1990s. One of the figureheads of conscious rap, he has appeared as Yasiin Bey since 2012, though he has not put out a new album. He recently gave a farewell tour but how things will go on remains to be seen.
Cat Stevens gained world fame with titles like "Morning has Broken" before he converted to Islam in 1977. Henceforth he went by the name Yusuf Islam – and long turned his back on music. He continued to make headlines, however, with donations to Hamas and statements about the fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie. He started releasing new albums in 2006; his latest is signed Yusuf/Cat Stevens.
