Yowazzup: A Directory of Happening Things

Donda West, mother of Kanye West and former English professor and chairwoman of Chicago State University’s English department, has died on Saturday night in Los Angeles at the age of 58, a spokesman for the rapper said.

“The family respectfully asks for privacy during this time of grief,” the spokesman added.

A cause of death has not been released.

It was known that Kanye and his mother, Donda West, share a strong bond. Kanye West, 30, often spoke of his close relationship with his single parent mother, who raised him alone after her husband left when Kanye was only 3. She was the inspiration for the song, “Hey Mama,” on Kanye West’s 2005 album “Late Registration,” in which he sings: “Hey Mama, I wanna scream so loud for you, cuz I’m so proud of you … I appreciate what you allowed for me. I just want you to be proud of me.”

In May, she published the book “Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar,” in which she paid homage to her famous son.

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Kanye West And Jim Jones Paying Tribute To Jay-Z Online, Thanks To Dame Dash?

Kareem "Biggs" Burke, Jay-Z and Dame Dash (Roc-A-Fella)

Dame Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke laughed on Monday (October 15) when they came up with a new crew name on the spot: “Block-A-Fella.” The “Block” in question refers to their new social-networking Web site, BlockSavvy.com, which has also served as a platform for Dame to blog and, maybe most significantly, resurrect Roc-A-Fella Records material from when Dash and Burke were tight with Jay-Z.

They were so tight that a few years ago, Dame wanted to pay tribute to his onetime inseparable buddy by having several artists on the label remake some of Hov’s tunes from his various albums. The project was called Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.

Read the rest of Kanye West And Jim Jones Paying Tribute To Jay-Z Online!

You can hear the entire Beyond a Reasonable Doubt LP on www.BlockSavvy.com

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Good life.

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Kanye West is definitely stronger than 50 Cent.

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Good evening!

• No mour Mourinho for Chelsea! Apparently, the entire world gets a shock when Chelsea’s manager quits so abruptly.
• 50 Cent is stronger than Kanye West in New Zealand.
• Matthew McConaughey will replace Owen Wilson in Ben Stiller’s latest comedy, “Tropic Thunder.” But, the question everyone’s asking now is - who will replace Jose Mourinho?

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Good evening and Happy Ramadan!

• Kanye album is outselling 50 Cent. Does that mean 50 Cent will close shop?
• Yahoo and Bebo has secured a deal.
• Women played a bloodier soccer game than the men.
• Sir Alex Ferguson got attacked in London and suffers minor injuries. London’s the home for Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs - no doubt why the Man United boss is so hated there.
• Body Shop founder, Anita Roddick passed away at the age of 64. No, it’s not skin cancer; it’s brain hemorrhage.

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Good afternoon, citizens!

• Beware! Government warns of busy hurricane season ahead!
• Universal music to sell DRM-free songs! Wuhoo! More reason to buy 50 Cents instead of Kanye West?
• Liverpool makes a good start in EPL by beating Aston Villa in the first game. Finally, a first-game win in 5 seasons!
• F1 boss wants to buy Arsenal!

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Six-time Grammy Award-winning American record producer and rapper Kanye West is the next “A-list” artiste heading to Malaysia.

The 29-year-old hip-hop superstar will be performing at Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur on April 8, 2007.

His concert here will be extra special as this will be his only stopover in the region after Japan and South Korea.

“Kanye is a massive name from the US hip-hop scene and it shows that Kuala Lumpur is getting recognized,” said Razman Razali, managing director of Pineapple Concerts, the concert organizer.

West cut his teeth as a rap producer before breaking into the mainstream with his multi-platinum debut The College Dropout in 2004, which spawned the hits Through the Wire, Jesus Walks and The New Workout Plan.

He consolidated his success with the follow-up record Late Registration in 2005 which amassed critical acclaim and blockbuster anthems Diamonds from Sierra Lone and Gold Digger (which reach no. 1 in The Billboard Hot 100), and other hot singles such as Heard ‘Em Say, Touch The Sky and Hey Mama.

At his concert here, the Illinois-born rapper is expected to trawl through his hits and new material from his forthcoming third album, with a female string orchestra.

Tickets, priced at MYR 230, MYR 200, MYR 150, MYR 120 and MYR 80, are expected to go on sale from the middle of this month.

Razali said that except for the MYR 150 tickets, the others would be seated ones. For enquiries, call +603-2780 7010.

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According to JAY-Z, people should tell the truth, whether they happen to be a multiplatinum-selling rap icon, a major-label president, or a drug dealer. He should know. Born Shawn Carter 36 years ago and raised in Brooklyn’s grim Marcy Projects, JAY-Z is the only person on the face of the planet with all three occupations on his résumé. ”In life, anything, just be yourself,” he says this August evening, largely ignoring the glass of cabernet beside him at the bar of Manhattan’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel. ”You don’t have to be like that in the record business. You can be conniving and nothing happens to you. But I can’t put up a front. On the street, you had to be a straight-up guy, you had to stand by your word. Because something could happen to you…”

Yes, JAY-Z is a man of his word. Except, it seems, when he isn’t. In 2002, the rapper declared that his next CD, The Black Album, would also be his last. His future lay not in the beats but in the boardroom. And that ambition became a reality when, in December 2004, he was announced as the new president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings. How to explain, then, the news that this fall JAY-Z will release a new CD, Kingdom Come? ”It was the worst retirement, maybe, in history,” he admits. And then he launches into an impromptu a cappella preview of the title track, which was inspired by a 1996 comic in which Superman comes out of retirement to save the world. The lyrics that effortlessly roll off his tongue may help explain his return: ”Take off the blazer/Loosen up the tie/Step inside the booth/Superman is alive!”

(By Clark Collis)

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