NEWSKanye West's Mother Dies From Surgery Complications
Nov. 12 2007, Published 5:19 a.m. ET
Donda West, mother of platinum-selling artist Kanye West, died Saturday, a spokesperson for the rapper confirms. She was 58.
Her publicist, Patricia Green, tells the BBC her client, a renowned professor and former chairwoman of the Chicago State University English department, passed away in Los Angeles from "complications from a cosmetic surgical procedure."
No further details were released.
Kanye, who was in London when he received word, released a statement through his spokesperson asking "for privacy during this time of grief."
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The 30-year-old was famously close with his mother, who raised him alone from the age of 3 on, and dedicated a song, "Hey Mama," to her on his second album, Late Registration.
"(Hey Mama), I wanna scream so loud for you, cuz I'm so proud of you... I just want you to be proud of me (Hey Mama)," he sang.
Donda also served as her son's manager and was CEO of his business, West Brands, and chairwoman of the Kanye West Foundation, a non-profit organization encouraging kids to stay in school. In May, she published a book, Raising Kanye: Life Lessons From the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar, documenting her son's rise to fame.
