Monday, November 12, 2007

**UPDATED** KANYE'S FAMILY ISSUES OFFICIAL STATEMENT; DETAILS SURROUNDING HER DEATH

Kanye West's family issued a statement Monday after the death of the singer's mother, Donda West, of possible surgical complications:

"Kanye West, his family and friends would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and kind words that have come in from across the country since the death of his mother, Dr. Donda West.

"After working in higher education for 31 years, Dr. Donda West and Kanye West co-founded the Kanye West Foundation with the mission of helping to combat the severe dropout problem in high schools across the country. The first and signature initiative of the Kanye West Foundation is Loop Dreams. Designed to capitalize on students existing interest in hip-hop, Loop Dreams challenges students to learn more about what's behind hip-hop culture in order to help them develop skills, express themselves creatively and be empowered.

"In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Dr. West's name to the Kanye West Foundation/Loop Dreams Teacher Training Institute. Those donations can be made by visiting the Foundation's Web site, The Kanye West Foundation or by mail at Kanye West Foundation, 8560 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069.

"Details of funeral services are still pending."

--Thanks, Madi!

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Donda West, the mother and manager of rapper Kanye West, died following cosmetic surgery it has been confirmed. Patricia Green, Donda West's publicist told CNN West died following a "cosmetic procedure" in Los Angeles at the weekend. Green would not give details about the procedure or exactly what the cause of death was. West died Saturday night at age 58 at Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center in Marina del Rey after she stopped breathing at her home, according to Deborah Ettinger, a hospital vice president. She was taken to the hospital by paramedics. "We tried to resuscitate her, but were unsuccessful," Ettinger said. West did not have surgery at the hospital, said Ettinger. It was not immediately clear what hospital she had the surgery at or what it was for. The LA County Coroner's office said it would perform an autopsy on West on Wednesay to determine the cause of death.

READ MORE ABOUT KANYE'S MOTHER UNTIMELY PASSING AS WELL AS THE RELATIONSHIP HE SHARED WITH HER AFTER THE JUMP!

In June, West met with Dr. Andre Aboolian of Beverly Hills to inquire about cosmetic surgery. Aboolian told West two weeks ago that she needed to get a medical clearance before he would agree to do the surgery, said his publicist, Jo-Ann Geffen. He never heard back from her, Geffen said. Aboolian was concerned about a condition West had that may cause a heart attack during surgery, said Geffen, declining to elaborate because of patient privacy rights. "He simply said that in order for him to be comfortable, he felt it necessary to have a medical clearance before he'd touch her," Geffen said.

Geffen said she didn't know if West had cosmetic surgery elsewhere. "He feels terrible because he said she was such a sweet lady," Geffen said.

During the MTV special All Eyes on Kanye West in August 2005, West put his relationship with his mom in even more context, saying, "After my parents got divorced and we moved to Chicago at age 3, I would go visit my father on Christmas during breaks and the summer. But the rest of that time, my mother was my everything, if you're an only child. That's my everything." That same year, Kanye released his album Late Registration, and one of the most touching tracks was Hey Mama, a tribute to Dr. West.

"When she first heard it, she was crying," Kanye said of the record. " ... Even me sitting back thinking about all the stuff now, thinking about all the stuff my mother has done for me, it makes me wanna call her."

"Kanye likes to think as a hobby and speak his own mind. He was always like that,"
Donda West told InStyle earlier this year. "He came out of the womb looking like he had that attitude." The impact she had on her son is undeniable, as is the impact he had on her. Just about every time you saw her around Kanye, she would have the most joyous look on her face. It was pride — she got to see her baby live his dreams.

Rapper Jay-Z paid tribute to Donda at a concert in New York on Sunday Night according to People, asking the crowd for a moment of silence. "Let's get serious for a minute. This show is dedicated to Kanye West who had a death in the family. We got you, Kanye. Stay strong."

1 Comment:

Rudolph said...

In my view every person ought to look at it.
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