Rapper Kanye West is known for pushing creative boundaries, even if it involves potentially controversial ideas. What may be a recent example of just that comes through his recent trademark application, where he’s attempting to register a word that some may find offensive.
In early October, the multi-Grammy Award-winning artist submitted paperwork to trademark the word “YEWS,” as reported by RadarOnline.com.
YEWS?
The term “YEWS” is speculated to be a spin on the word “JEWS,” a term for followers of Judaism, and comes almost a year since the creative’s anti-Semitic comments cost him billions of dollars in business, millions of fans, and many of his personal relationships.
It also cast a shadow on his school, and his lawyers, Bob Cohen and Bernard Clair, parted ways with him in the wake of his remarks about Jewish people.
The response on social media to the filing ranges from outrage to mockery.
One person celebrated the word on Oct. 8, remembering this was the one-year anniversary of West blasting Jewish people on then-Twitter.
“YEWS coming,” the person captioned the post.
Others said it is a portmanteau word, combining Ye and News.
“Ye + news = Yews,” one person attempted to explain.
However, given his history of making inflammatory and provocative moves for the sake of art, another said, “No that would be yenews. u cant fool me.”
A person on Reddit said, “Who tf knows what that s##t means but we’re on a ride again, it’s gonna get real wild, bro always doing the most outlandish s##t.”
The trademark application was placed by an LLC named Ox Paha Inc., a new brand that was previously unrelated to West. However, it’s worth noting that the company’s address on the application matches West’s office on Melrose Ave.
The purpose of this trademark filing for “Yews” is to secure legal rights for various business ventures, including financial services, real estate, clothing, music and audio, entertainment content, beauty products, restaurants, and more.
If “YEWS” is the new brand that West is getting ready to push, it will add to his $500 million enterprise.
At one point, he was valued at $6 billion, making him one of the three richest self-made Black people in U.S. history, according to Celebrity Net Worth. His net worth reportedly changed after he terminated an agreement with the Gap brand, citing breach of contract, and witnessed the collapse of his partnership with Adidas — the latter, a result of his anti-Semitic comments — with both developments taking place in late 2022.
At one point, Ye blamed his financial issues on Jewish people, implying they “tried to black ball” him for opposing their agenda.
