Kanye West's Mother Dies
Submitted by thePearlMag on Mon, 11/12/2007 - 04:06.
Donda West,mother of Kanye West and former chairwoman of Chicago State University's English department, passed away on Saturday from undisclosed causes a spokesmanfor Kanye and his family said. She was 58.
Apparently, West was in Los Angeles and “her death may have been the result of complications from a surgical procedure,” according to MTV.com.
“Although widely known as the mother of Kanye, Dr. West was a noted scholar and an active college professor for 31 years; she left the profession in 2004 to assist with Kanye's career, according to her biography on the Web site of the Kanye West Foundation, an educational nonprofit of which she was chair. She was also chief executive of West Brands, the parent company of her son's businesses.”
The inspiration for the song “Hey Mama,” on Kanye’s 2005
album Late Registration.”
"Hey Mama, I wanna scream so loud for you/ 'Cause I'm so proud of you/ Let me tell you what I'm about to do ... I appreciate what you allowed for me, I just want you to be proud of me."
She is also known for the strong bond she shared with her son. Often defending her son against critics. "I support my baby," she said in a Chicago Sun-Times interview. "He is telling how he feels and he is speaking the truth as he sees it."
In May, she published a book titled “Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Star.”
"The importance and influence Dr. West had in her son's life is profound. When Kanye appeared on MTV News' "You Hear It First" in 2003, one of his first rhymes was about his mother — he dropped to his knees during the performance to get his point across. Those rhymes later turned up in a full-blown dedication to her, Late Registration's "Hey Mama."
Listen
to Dr. West talk to exclusively to BlackAmericaWeb.com about the book “Raising
Kanye: Life Lessons from the mother of a Hip-Hop Star.”
Cant Imagine...
It hurts my heart to even imagine how he must be feeling right now. Losing his mother who was also his right hand man is unimaginable. I not only pray for him in his time of grief but I also pray that the media lets him grieve in peace.