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Nine years ago, Kanye West (who has since legally changed his name to Ye) famously said the following: “Look at [Lady] Gaga; she’s the creative director of Polaroid. I like some of the Gaga songs, but what the f-ck does she know about cameras?” Well, according to the latest trademark paperwork filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office, it looks like the 24x Grammy Award winner knows about much more than just cameras.
Based on 17 different applications dated May 27, Ye’s Mascotte Holdings, Inc. company has registered to trademark his YEEZUS brand for use on various items. The list ranges from “blockchain-based non-fungible collectibles, assets, currencies and tokens” and sports equipment to “[an] online retail store services featuring downloadable movies, videos, television, music, entertainment, digital art.” The musician even submitted documentation for a chain of YEEZUS-branded amusement parks.
Just because Ye’s Mascotte Holdings submitted trademark documentation with the USPTO doesn’t necessarily mean there is any real plan to bring these visions to life at all. However, they do prevent other entities from using certain words that are linked to the rapper’s brand. And this isn’t the first time Ye’s employed this tactic, either.
In July 2020, Mascotte Holdings filed trademark paperwork for a YEEZY-named beauty and skincare line. Then last October, he filed submitted similar documentation for a brand of home goods named after his late mother.
Such business ventures call Ye’s 2013 interview with the New York Times, where he told Jon Caramanica that he would eventually become synonymous with one of the most revered tech businesspersons ever. ”I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means,” he proclaimed nine years ago, oddly in the same year he made his Lady Gaga remark. “I am undoubtedly, you know, Steve of Internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period.”
