S. Samuel
Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West recently put on for his Chicago hometown and dedicated a local concert to his late mother, Donda West.
In addition to showing love to his mother, who passed away in 2007, Ye publicly thanked hip-hop super couple Jay-Z and Beyonce for their support.
“It’s a glorious occasion,” Yeezy told fans. “But right now I want y’all to put two fingers in the air right now. I wanna dedicate this show to the lady that brought me to Chicago at age three, the first black female chair of the English department at Chicago State University, Dr. Donda Claire Ann West. I know she up there looking down right now and she helped me get through these past four years, when America turned they back on me, when the world turned they back on me for tellin’ ya’ll the motherf*cking truth — and now I’m leading the Grammy nominations. And I just wanna thank Beyoncé and Jay-Z for standing by me in my darkest hours and you, Chicago, for standing by me in my darkest hour and giving me reason to feel like I should stay alive when the world thought I should die and staying by my side.” (Get In Tune! Stupid)
In 2007, Jay and Beyonce attended Donda West’s funeral.
Heartbroken Kanye West collapsed in tears as he paid tribute to his mother Dr. Donda West at her funeral. Around 1,000 friends and family, including singer Beyonce and rapper boyfriend Jay-Z, mourned West’s mother at a funeral service in Oklahoma City. She died 12 days ago after plastic surgery, including a breast reduction and tummy tuck, and liposuction. (Daily Mail UK)
After Yeezy got criticized for publicly interrupting country singer Taylor Swift during 2009’s Video Music Awards, Jay spoke up for his rhyming partner.
“[Kanye is] like my little brother, I pretty much introduced him on the first Blueprint… He’s just a super passionate person, and of course it was rude because it was her moment but that’s how he really felt… I think it was rude, but I don’t think, the way they’re treating, it’s on the front of every paper, he didn’t kill anybody, like, no one got harmed… At the end of the day, we’re gonna celebrate him for his passion… As he grows and matures, he’s got to know how to balance that. He’ll learn that in the years to come…That passion wasn’t fake, it wasn’t staged… I don’t think he should lay low, I think he should go on tour and have a brilliant career…The thing you have to realize about it, he’s been that passionate from his first record, he used to jump on tables, I’m trying to make the first Blueprint and he’s jumping on tables. [laughs] If he had changed because of his success, then it would be something else, then it would be a different thing but he’s always been that passionate.” (BBC Radio)
Last summer, Ye and Jay officially formed rap group, The Throne.
A week after debuting their new single, “Otis”, off “Watch the Throne,” Jay-Z and Kanye West are joining forces to form the group ‘The Throne’ and announce their ‘Watch the Throne Tour,’ kicking off on Sept. 22, in Detroit. “Watch the Throne” will be available on iTunes on August 8. On the same day, tickets for The Throne’s tour, powered by VoyR, will be made available at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com. Fans who purchase their tickets online will receive a digital copy of the album. The album hits stores on Aug. 12. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Check out Kanye West’s remarks below:
