Kanye West parents: who is his mother Donda, father Ray?

He may be Ye to the rest of the world (among other nicknames), but to Kanye West’s parents, he was simply their son.

Kanye, whose full name is Kanye Omari West, was born on June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. Her mother, Dr. Donda C. Williams, was an English teacher, while her father, Ray West, is a photographer. His parents divorced when he was 3, after which he moved to Chicago, Illinois with his mother who raised him for most of his childhood, although he still spends summers with his father. . Donda died aged 58 in 2007. “I was very grateful that he was in my opinion an instrument, that voice or that truth, that comes through him,” Donda told Jet magazine in 2007 before his death. “He has the attention of many, of a whole generation. I was proud that he said those things and grateful that I had that kind of courage and to come out and not be afraid,” he said. she said, “I raised it that way, to think critically and analytically and not be afraid to express how you feel. I helped shape that. I think leaders are people who have to do that.

In an interview on My next guest needs no introduction, Kanye recalled one of his most cherished stories about his mother. “I remember my mom bought me a multicolored bear, and I was a huge fan of (artist) Takashi Murakami back in the days of [my] third album, ‘Graduation,’ so she bought it and she said, ‘It sounds like Murakami,'” he said. “And then I was like, ‘I don’t want this – it’s not a Takashi Murakami bear. “” He continued, “I did everything I could to find this bear (and) place this bear on all the Takashi Murakami stuff I had in the house. Kanye, who shares the North kids , Saint, Chicago and Psalm with his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, also explained to host David Letterman that he knew his mother was with him “But she’s here with us,” he said, “and she guides us,” he said.

So who are Kanye West’s parents? Read on to find out what to know about Kanye’s mom, Donda, and dad, Ray, and what he’s said about them over the years.

Who is Kanye West’s mother, Donda Williams?

Kanye West’s mother is Donda C. Williams. Donda, born July 12, 1949, grew up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She received a bachelor’s degree in English from Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, in 1971 and a doctorate from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, in 1980. Donda began her teaching career in the early 1970s at the Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia. , before taking a job at Chicago State University, where she worked as an English teacher for 31 years (24 of those as head of the English, Communications, Media, and Drama department.)

“It was in her heart — English, poetry, literature,” Naimah Muhammad, one of Donda’s former students, told the Chicago Tribune in 2007 after her death. “She loved it and shared it with the world.” Luvenia Williams, another professor at Chicago State University, added, “She was a wonderful administrator. We have become close friends. He was an intensely spiritual person who taught with this passion. In a statement to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago State University credited Donda with establishing the school’s Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing “as an academic center to teach the writings of African-American authors and poets while encouraging new literary talents”.

Donda welcomed her first and only child, son Kanye Omari West, on June 8, 1977, with then-husband Ray West. Donda and Ray divorced when he was 3 years old. In 2004, after 31 years at Chicago State University, Donda retired from teaching and moved to California to work full-time for her son, who released his debut album, University dropout, that same year. “I sat in the parking lot and listened to the whole CD. I couldn’t get out of it. I wanted to be still and understand everything,” Donda wrote in her 2009 book, Raising Kanye: Life Lessons From the Mom of a Hip-Hop Superstar
. “I sat there, listening halfway holding back my tears – halfway blocking. I turned up the music really loud. I wanted to open my window and shout to everyone who passed by: “Hey, that’s my child!” “In a 2004 interview with MTV, Kanye called Donda ‘best friend.’ She’s my mom. I LOVE her. She’s my best friend in the whole world. “helped, she drove me to the studio. She was really my first manager. She’s still my CEO,” he said at the time. Donda also helped Kanye launch his charity, the Kanye West Foundation , a non-profit organization that provides music education to underprivileged youth, in 2003. He renamed the organization Donda West Foundation after the death of his mother in 2007.

Image: Courtesy of Gallery Books.

Donda died on November 10, 2007. She was 58 years old. Donda, whose death came a day after undergoing cosmetic surgery with plastic surgeon Dr. Jan Adams, died at Centinela Freeman Medical Center in Inglewood, Calif., after friends and family called 911 from her home in Playa Del Ray to have her taken o to the hospital. “The final manner of death could not be determined,” the coroner said in a statement at the time. “Multiple postoperative factors could have played a role in the death. The exact contribution of each factor could not be determined. There was no evidence of a surgical or anesthetic mishap. A spokesperson for Donda also said she died “due to complications from cosmetic surgery.”

According to a copy of the autopsy report obtained by People, Donda was able to leave the clinic 5.5 hours after her operation with bandages and prescribed Vicodin for the pain. . “She elected to return home for care even though she was informed that she would be receiving postoperative care at another facility,” the report said. At home, Donda received care from an “experienced nurse” and two caregivers. The night after her surgery, Donda took Vicodin for the pain, slept and felt better in the morning, according to the autopsy report. However, as the day progressed, she reported a sore throat, pain and tightness in her chest, before collapsing early in the evening. A friend who was with her at the time called 911 and Donda was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead in the emergency room. “What came out of the autopsy released today was exactly what I thought would be reported,” Dr Adams told Extra at the time. “Out of respect for Kanye West’s family, I want to honor the physician patient confidentiality agreement.” According to Newsweek, it was later discovered that Donda’s death was caused by heart failure due to multiple postoperative factors. The magazine reported that Donda underwent liposuction, abdominoplasty, and breast reduction before her death.

In 2021, Kanye dedicates his 10th album, DONDA, to his mother. “Mom, I need you to tuck me in, I made mistakes and they rubbed it / I know you and grandma had enough / Why do I have to be so stubborn then?” Kanye raps in the song “Donda”. Two years before his death, Kanye also wrote the song “Hey Mama” from his 2005 album. Late check-in in honor of his mother. He interpreted it in front of her in an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005. In a 2015 interview with Q magazine, Kanye said he believed his mother would still be alive if he hadn’t moved from Chicago to Los Angeles to pursue a music career. “My mom. If I had never moved to LA, she would be alive…I don’t want to dwell on that because it would make me cry,” he said at the time via Newsweek.

Who is Kanye West’s father, Ray West?

Kanye West’s father is Ray West. Ray divorced Kanye’s mother, Donda Williams, when he was 3 years old. After their divorce, Kanye moved with his mother to Chicago, Illinois, and spent his summers with his father in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was born, according to the Daily Mail. ray was a black panther in the 1960s and 1970s. After that, he became one of the first black photojournalists at the Atlanta Constitution-Journal, photographing former president Ronald Reagan and Maya Angelou. According to Hollywood Life, Ray has also worked as a paparazzo, marriage counselor and store owner.

Like his son, Ray has taken on various career endeavors over the years. In the 60s and 70s he was a Black Panther. After that, West became one of the first black photojournalists for the Atlanta Constitution-Journal, photographing former President Ronald Reagan and Maya Angelou. In addition to his reputable credentials, West has also worked as a paparazzo, marriage counselor and store owner. Ray is also the founder of the Good Water Foundation in the Dominican Republic. In a 2013 interview with the BBC, Kanye opened up about his father’s charitable personality and told the outlet that his father once moved into a homeless shelter “not because he was homeless- shelter, but because he wanted to help former drug addicts, he wanted to get close to that.

Over the years, Kanye has written several songs about his father. In his song “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1.” from his 2016 album Pablo’s life, Kanye has hinted that his parents’ separation may have been due to financial issues. In his “Champion” from his 2007 album GraduationWest also rapped, “I don’t know, I just want it to be better for my kids / And I ain’t say we were projects / But every time I wanna put away or lay down / My daddy would say” when you see clothes, close your eyes” / We were kinda like Will Smith and his son / In the movie, I ain’t talking about the rich / ‘Cause every summer there will be / A brand new wacky scheme to get rich at from/ And I don’t know what he did for the dough/ But he’ll send me back to school with a new wardrobe According to Cheat Sheet, Kanye and his dad got closer after his mom passed away Ray even filmed Kanye’s “Follow God” music video in 2019. “It took me 42 years to realize my dad was my best friend,” Kanye said at the time.