Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has always had specific reasons for his name change. While many speculated about the deeper meaning behind the switch, it turns out it is closely tied to his namesake album. Ye’s music has consistently drawn inspiration from his surroundings, and both his name and the album are connected to the mountains of Ye.

For those interested, here is where the journey of Ye began.

‘Ye’ is the eighth studio album by American rapper Kanye West, released on June 1, 2018. Amid a controversy from a TMZ interview, West reportedly re-recorded the entire album in just two weeks at his West Lake Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The album's artwork and title are tied to the Teton mountain range in Jackson Hole, where it was produced. The artwork, revealed by Kim Kardashian, was a photo taken by West on his iPhone en route to the listening party on May 31, 2018.

During the listening party, West explained to Big Boy that the title ‘Ye’ is a diminutive of his own name, frequently used in his songs. He noted that ‘ye’ is the most common word in the Bible, meaning ‘you.’ He elaborated that while ‘Kanye’ means ‘the only one,’ changing it to ’Ye’ was meant to reflect a more inclusive representation of both good and bad. However, in October 2022, CNN reported that anonymous sources claimed West initially suggested naming the album after the notorious Nazi dictator.

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Regardless, the album was a hit beyond measure, and even years after its release, the record seems to have resonated well with hip-hop enthusiasts.

The Atlanta rapper's 2018 album ‘Ye’ debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 208,000 album-equivalent units, including 85,000 pure album sales, marking the fifth-largest weekly total for an album that year. This release was his eighth consecutive chart-topper on the Billboard 200, tying him with Eminem's streak from 2010-2018 and The Beatles' run from 1965-1968. Ye and Eminem were the only artists to achieve eight consecutive number-one debuts.

Last year, ‘Ye’ re-emerged in popularity, making Ye the first artist to nearly reach 100 million streams for each song on Spotify. In 2018, the album set a record for the highest per-track average streaming with 25.7 million on-demand audio streams. While the intriguing story behind the album’s title was not widely known initially, its revelation now allows fans to appreciate his music from a broader perspective.

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Did you know about the mountains of Ye and the Atlanta rapper's same-name album? Let us know in the comments below!