The 44-year-old wants to change his full name -- Kanye Omari West -- to the two-letter Ye, with no middle or last name, according to NBC News and other US media.
The change was requested for "personal reasons" and must be approved by a judge, NBC said.
West has already been calling himself Ye for some time, tweeting in 2018 that he was "the being formally known as Kanye West. I am Ye."
He released an album by the same name that same year.
The Chicago-raised rapper and record producer has won 21 Grammys. He burst onto the rap scene on his production chops before delivering a string of critically acclaimed studio albums, selling over 20 million copies.
The spotlight recently has shone on West more for his personal life than his art, after his partner of nearly a decade, Kim Kardashian, filed for divorce earlier this year.
Before the news broke, their union had been dogged for months by reports of marital difficulties. West has battled with mental health issues, and last year launched an improbable and controversial foray into US presidential politics.
