Kanye West's mother, Dr Donda West, has died, seemingly quite suddenly, in LA. She was 58. The cause of death is not clear, with a spokeperson for the family telling reporters: ''The family respectfully asks for privacy during this time of grief". Kanye had just arrived in London when he was told of his mother's death, and he immediately flew to LA to be with his family.
Donda West had managed her son's hip hop career since 2004, when she left her job as an English professor at Chicago State University. She was also CEO of the parent company to Kanye West Enterprises, and recently co-authored a book called 'Raising Kanye: Life Lessons From The Mother Of A Hip-Hop Superstar'.