Kanye West was not feeling the love this weekend at the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee. His late night performance at the festival was delayed for two hours due to circumstances beyond his control, but that didn’t stop concert goers from chanting “Kanye Sucks.” Even though it wasn’t Kanye’s fault that the show was delayed- it was actually because Pearl Jam’s set went an hour long and it took a long time to unload their set and bring on West’s elaborate stage show-fans assumed that the delay must have been due to his notorious diva behavior. See, this is what happens when you regularly act like an egomaniacal jerk.

Kanye West’s late night performance at Bonnaroo was delayed nearly two hours, angering the festival crowd who responded by chanting “Kanye sucks” and pelting the empty stage with glow sticks.

West had been scheduled to take the main stage at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival at 2:45 a.m. Sunday morning. While the sleepy thousands in the audience waited, a message on the jumbotrons told them West’s show would be delayed until 3:15 a.m., and when that didn’t happen, that he would start at 3:30. West didn’t hit the stage until 4:25 a.m.

The delay was caused by problems setting up West’s elaborate stage set, which included an interplanetary landscape of a wavy black platform with a slanted floor in the middle and a video screen above. West performed a spectacular galactic-themed concert complete with interaction with his spaceship, a disembodied female voice named Jane (a kind of sexier HAL).

Ken Weinstein, a spokesman for the annual festival held on a 700-acre site south of Nashville, said the delay was simply a matter of unloading the Pearl Jam stage (the band went an hour past its scheduled end time, playing until about 1:15 a.m.) and loading the West stage.

The festival, which boasted more than 150 acts spread out over four days, was otherwise very punctual. The West delay was all the worse because of its already very late schedule, and many campers lost energy before the concert and returned to their sleeping bags. Midway through his performance, the morning light showed that the crowd had dwindled substantially.

West had originally been slated to perform at 8:15 p.m. Saturday night, but requested a late night performance. At least in the first hour of his performance, West didn’t address the crowd regarding the delay.

Later Sunday, the Bonnaroo crowd was still upset. Pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph led a “Kanye sucks” chant.

A spokesperson for West didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

[From Yahoo!]

Given his ridiculous behavior in the past, it’s hard to have sympathy for Kanye on this latest incident, even if the delay wasn’t really his fault. It sounds like the audience didn’t have much good will toward West to begin with. To his credit, though, he does put on a hell of a show. But I wonder if he would have been better off taking the 8:15 p.m. slot right from the beginning. I’m sure his elaborate set wasn’t quite as exciting at 4 in the morning. Also- I guess I am way too old to consider going to one of these festivals, because the idea of staying up all night like that makes me want to go back to bed this morning.

Kanye West is shown performing at the “HOT 97 Summer Jam concert at Giants Stadium in
Rutherford, New Jersey” on 6/1/08, thanks to WENN.

I’m really beginning to dislike Kanye West, he might be talented, but he’s also an arrogant diva. From rants on his blog reacting to good reviews (they weren’t good enough), to getting on stage at the MTV awards and declaring that he should have won an award, because his video cost a million dollars.

Now, he’s kicked two fans out of his concert for throwing things on stage, which admittedly isn’t cool, and had them removed from his Glow in the Dark show.

Word to the wise - don’t throw shit at a Kanye West concert. A couple of stunned concert-goers were called out by West after they threw something on the stage. Embarrassment ensued as lights were shone on them and they were escorted away as the crowd jeered them. Awkward!

The eviction occurred at West’s Glow in the Dark concert in Minneapolis. The guys who filmed this video should have been also kicked out for their sheer lameness.

Beat - bodoglife

View the video here.

What surprises me about this is that it is hugely unprofessional to let something on the stage stop your show like that. Most of the audience wouldn’t even notice the interruption if you hadn’t called attention to it. In the past Kanye has lost it over technical problems on stage, and it just isn’t professional. Most performers are able to work through these things.

I think this sticks out for me after last year at Coachella Neil Finn of Crowded House had his microphone knocked over by a Rage Against the Machine fan, and the band just kept playing. It was completely calm.

Still, despite Kanye’s personality, what I’ve seen of his show looks incredible.

Here’s the video:

Note by Celebitchy: I don’t agree with Helen here and think that Kanye did the right thing by throwing those people out. Sure he may have overreacted, but it’s not acceptable to do that to a performer and people have been hurt by stuff getting thrown on stage in the past.

Kanye West is shown performing with Lil Wayne at the Hot 97 “Summer Jam” in Giants Stadium on 6/1/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

It’s not often that something good can come out of a death, particularly a death of someone young and healthy who was taken unexpectedly. So I’m really happy to hear that Donda West’s death has led to a change in law for plastic surgery, making it safer for patients.

In California, the death of Donda West, 58, in November prompted two lawmakers to push for additional patient safety protections.

A bill, AB 2968, by Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto) calls for a patient to receive a physical examination before undergoing cosmetic surgery.

Yolanda Anderson, West’s niece, said her aunt did not receive a physical exam by her surgeon, Dr. Jan Adams, before undergoing surgery.

A spokesman for Adams has previously said it was his understanding that both Adams and the anesthesiologist thoroughly questioned West before her surgery.

“It’s not like she was 90 or terminally ill with cancer,” Anderson said. “It was something that did not have to happen.”

Another doctor whom West had previously seen declined to operate on her, saying that she was at risk of having a heart attack if she were to undergo the cosmetic surgery.

A coroner’s report cited West’s heart disease and clogged coronary arteries as a factor in her death. According to the coroner, there was no evidence that her death was caused by a mistake in surgery.

Los Angeles Times

It seems that at this stage anyone with a medical degree can perform surgery on a patient that requests it, and because they are often performed as outpatient proceedures they do not undergo the same regulations a hospital inpatient would. How Donda West could have been sent home 5 1/2 hours after a breast reduction and tummy tuck is beyond me - a relative of mine who underwent the same proceedure in Australia was in hospital for four days recovering.

Dr Jan Adams, the doctor who performed the surgery on Donda West, was also fighting two malpractice suits at the time of her operation. One was for leaving a sponge in a patient, the other for only placing one implant in a woman wanting a pair of breast implants. The new law does not stop him from performing surgery, or having to disclose the suits to patients, while the case is still waiting for or undergoing trial.

The new law also means that doctors will be under closer supervision, such as what a heart surgeon in a regular hospital might be under. Patients will have to have a full physical exam. While Donda was an intelligent adult who should perhaps should have chosen not to have the surgery, if she sought a second opinion it is possible that she was told the surgery would be safe. Donda was not undergoing the surgery solely for cosmetic reasons, but because of back pain.

I can only hope that the West family, and other families who have suffered loss related to plastic surgery, can get some closure from Donda’s unfortunate death with this little bit of good that comes with the legislation.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Donda West and her son, Kanye, are shown at a book signing for
“Raising Kanye: Life Lessons From The Mother Of A Hip-Hop Superstar” at Waterstones bookstore in London on 6/30/07, thanks to WENN.

After his mother died, Kanye West seemed to have changed. There seemed to be an air of humility around him, and a newfound respect for people. Somehow the mountain of arrogance seemed to have abated a bit, which could only be a good thing. But it appears that whatever bit of dignity and self-restraint visited Kanye was only stopping by for the weekend, as he’s very much back to his conceited, egotistical rantings.

Entertainment Weekly reviewed Kanye’s Glow in the Dark tour on Friday, giving it a B+. And Entertainment Weekly can be pretty stingy with its reviews – a B+ is something to be pretty happy about. And if nothing else, it’s best to have some grace and manners about the whole thing, no? But those are two words that have never crossed Kanye West’s lips. Here’s a few highlights from the review:

For his headlining chunk of the Glow in the Dark Tour, Kanye West also takes fans on a galactic voyage, folding his hits into a wacked-out space opera that’s the ultimate ego trip. Normally, that’d be an insult, but with West, who’s made an art form out of dramatizing both humility and hubris, it’s mission accomplished…

…Okay, so he’s a nut. Still, West’s commitment to communicating inner passions and identity crises is so consuming it nearly redeems any conceptual hokeyness. Eschewing hip-hop’s buddy system, West is his stage’s sole visible human, and he’s become a riveting soliloquist. Crouching on one knee, broken up, during ”Hey Mama” — or pacing like a prizefighter during every other number — he gets you caught up in his journey to the center of the id and pulls off something rare: an intimate spectacle.

[From Entertainment Weekly]

Now keep in mind that by most accounts, Kanye’s show is a massive ego trip and has a good deal of cheese to it. A spaceship named Jane talks to him and ”We need the brightest star in the universe — you, Kanye! Only you can bring us home. You can glow in the dark!” Supposedly the show is so good that you can overlook the occasional cheese though. It seems like the writer gave Kanye a pretty good review, considering most of us can’t look past the ego that he forces in our faces. Yet here was how Kanye chose to respond on his blog at KanyeUniverCity.

Yo, anybody that’s not a fan; don’t come to my show. For what?! To try and throw ya’ll two cents in? Ya’ll rated my album shitty and now ya’ll come to the show and give it a B+. What’s a B+ mean? I’m an extremist. It’s either pass or fail! A+ or F-! You know what, fuck you and the whole fucking staff!!! I know I shouldn’t dignify this with a comment, but the reviewer threw a jab at all the artists. I just wanna know when was the last time you enjoyed yourself. If you can’t have fun and lose yourself at this tour it’s a good chance you’re a very miserable person. I actually feel sorry for you guys. Your job forces you to not have fun anymore. Grab a drink, holla at some nice girls, and party bitch!! You don’t know shit about passion and art. You’ll never gain credibility at this rate. You’re fucking trash! I make art. You can’t rate this. I’m a real person. I’m not a pop star. I don’t care about anything but making great art. Never come 2 one of my shows ever again, you’re not invited and if you see me…BOW!! This is not pop, it’s pop art!

[From KanyeUniverCity]

What a fabulous way to seem like an ungrateful asshole. And to prove the reviewer right. In fact it seems like Entertainment Weekly soft-peddled Kanye’s ego a bit. So he made sure to remind us all exactly how great he is. It doesn’t seem to occur to him that just because he’s a self-proclaimed extremist, and it’s all-or-nothing with him, doesn’t mean the rest of the world has to adjust their views to be in line with that.

As shocking and upsetting as it is, someone’s allowed to think Kanye is mediocre. The funny thing is that EW didn’t even say that – what they wrote was pretty generous. But I’ll go out on a limb here and say there’s no performance in the universe that could be good enough to merit this level of ego. So I’ll reserve my bows for now.

Here’s Kanye arriving at GOA nightclub for his ‘Glow In The Dark Tour’ party in Los Angeles on April 22nd. Images thanks to WENN.

Jawn Murray of AOL Black Voices says that Kanye West and longtime girlfriend/fiancé Alexis Phifer have broken up. Murray claims Kanye dumped Alexis and didn’t give any specific reasons – just the good old, “It’s not going to work out.” The pair have been dating since 2002, though the broke up for a while in 2004. Murray announced the news during his segment on the nationally syndicated ‘Tom Joyner Morning Show’ on Friday morning.

Sources close to the hip-hop star tell me that it was West who ended the engagement after revealing to Phifer: “I just don’t think it is going to work out anymore.” The 30-year-old entertainer even asked for his ring back!

The often-controversial rapper/producer got engaged to Phifer while overseas in the fall of 2006. The two met when Phifer worked as the assistant to West’s fulltime wardrobe stylist. A graduate from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in California, Phifer is working on a clothing line and has already designed some dresses that have been worn by artists like Lil’ Mo. Sources close to the couple claim she was also helping West develop his forthcoming Pastelle clothing line.

[From AOL Black Voices]

That’s pretty damn low to ask for the ring back. Especially if Kanye broke up with Alexis and not the other way around. And considering he made $17 million in 2005 alone, it seems like he could probably afford to leave her with something shiny to remember him by. Kanye’s people have of course not responded, and will probably give the standard “no comment,” if they ever do.

West has certainly had a tough year since his mother Donda passed away last fall. He’s recently started touring again, and has earned a few scathing reviews – mostly for the massive display of ego. Certainly not the first time that criticism has been leveled against Kanye.

Pop superstar Kanye West took over KeyArena on Wednesday night in what was essentially a one-man show. With his backing band tucked away mostly out of sight in a makeshift orchestra pit and no backup dancers, no guest rappers, no preening entourage, it was just Kanye Kanye Kanye all night long.

The man is known for his ego — and in the narcissistic echo chambers of hip-hop, that’s really saying something — and Wednesday night the Kanye self got wide berth. He tried by sheer force of his own charisma to fill up KeyArena, and while the effort was impressive, in the end it was a little like watching Kobe Bryant pour in 64 points just so the Lakers could lose by two.

[From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

I guess the whole notion of him toning down his ego and being more humble and appreciative of life didn’t last long. Kanye seems like he could be a pretty difficult guy to be married to. The relationship would be like a threesome: Kanye, Kanye’s ego, and a woman. He’s a talented artist, but something tells me that in the long run, Alexis might see this as a blessing in disguise.

Header of Kanye and fiancée Alexis Phifer at Paris Fashion Week on February 29th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Kanye West used to have the reputation of being quite the diva. I have no idea what the male term for diva is. Divo? Let’s go with that. Kanye was notorious for his hissy fits when he didn’t win awards – often overtaking the stage and ranting to camera crews about how amazing his work was. His sense of entitlement was a pretty big turnoff, but it seems that we may have a gentler, kinder, more humble Kanye from now on. West says his mother’s death in November changed him, and his outlook on life is completely different now.

Rapper Kanye West says he’s been putting his priorities in place since his mother’s death. “If there’s anything my mom taught me [it] is to enjoy life,” West, 30, wrote on his blog on Wednesday. “I don’t do anything I don’t love anymore … While people chase money I pursue happiness.”

West’s mother died of heart disease and other factors Nov. 10th – one day after undergoing cosmetic surgery. The rapper paid tribute to his mom at this year’s Grammy Awards. On his blog, the multiple Grammy winner also wrote about the joys of making new music and recording “my first verse in the last six months” two days earlier in Japan.

“It felt good and I was inspired … tragedy can produce great art and this is definitely true … life is good … good as finding the perfect fabric for a simple one button casual blazer with matching pants.”

[From People]

The clothing analogy is a little unexpected, but whatever works for you. I was hoping there’d be a little something in there about not getting your boxers in a twist every time something doesn’t go your way, but I’ll take what I can get from Kanye. Losing a parent makes you really reflect on not just your life but life in general. Kanye’s right, tragedy can produce great art, and hopefully he’ll come back with his best work yet.

Here’s Kanye and fiancée Alexis Phifer at Paris Fashion Week on February 29th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Poor Dr. Jan Adams. The television/publicity loving plastic surgeon complains that his business has gone down the drain since he operated on Kanye West’s mother Donda, who died at her home the next day. While her autopsy results were inconclusive, most people seem to agree that Adams bears some culpability. West consulted another plastic surgeon for her breast reduction (which was a medical necessity due to back pain) and tummy tuck. Both of the other surgeons refused to do the surgery, stating that West had to see an internist before he would consider doing the surgery since she had a condition that could cause a heart attack. However Adams was more than fine with operating on West. While Donda was obviously aware of the first surgeon’s concerns and still went ahead with surgery, Dr. Adams had a duty not to operate on her if he was aware of her condition – which a good doctor would be.

As a result of Donda West’s death, a lot of publicity was focused on Jan Adams, and it quickly came to light that he has a long history of legal problems, including charges of domestic violence, DUI arrests, tax evasion and malpractice suits. And the malpractice suits are legitimate –he once left a sponge inside a patient, and only put one breast implant in other. Last night Adams went on Larry King to complain about the way his practice has suffered as a result of all the negative publicity.

KING: Do you continue to practice?

ADAMS: Yes.

KING: How bad has your practice been affected by this publicity?

ADAMS: Horribly. It’s almost destroyed.

KING: Is that surprising to you?

ADAMS: It surprises me because I have to ask myself, when people attack you like that — I’m talking the press — you have to say, why do they fear you? Generally, people attack someone who they fear. And I’m not sure where all that came from. I do know we got bad information. The real question out there really isn’t, from where I look at, this particular patient. The real question out there is, who is this person and why is this kind of attack going on?

[From Larry King Live]

Hey Dr. Adams, I don’t think people fear you, I think they loathe you. It’s just easier to think they fear you, because that implies that you have some sort of power over everyone. People generally don’t like the idea of a DUI-getting, girlfriend-hitting, sponge-leaving doctor. So when you’re in some way connected to the death of a famous hip hop star’s mother, and then people find out you’ve got a long history of doing jackass things, they’re going to dislike you. Though the autopsy findings made it pretty hard to say Adams was directly responsible for West’s death, one would think he’d realize it’s a bad idea to go on national television and complain about how hard this has been for him. I’m guessing it’s harder for the West family. There’s a good chance Dr. Adams will lose his board certification due to his myriad legal and medical run-ins. It’s not the justice a lot of people would like, but it will hopefully keep him from operating on anyone else.

Donda West, mother of Kanye and English Professor, has had her cause of death ruled inconclusive by the coroner, who finds he can’t blame her death comprehensively on cosmetic surgery as she had pre-existing conditions. These pre-existing conditions were probably the reason she was turned away by other doctors who refused to perform the surgery.

The coroner’s office said in a statement that Donda West died of “coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors” but that “there was no evidence of a surgical or anesthetic misadventure.”

The statement added: “Multiple post-operative factors could have played a role in the death. The exact contribution of each factor could not be determined.”

In November, West, 58, arrived at a Wilshire Boulevard surgery center for routine cosmetic surgery. The operation lasted 5 1/2 hours, after which she was sent home, according to the coroner’s office.

A day later, paramedics rushed an unconscious West from her home to a Marina del Rey hospital, where she died.

Los Angeles Times

The doctor who operated on Donda West, Dr Jan Adams, had a long history of issues, including domestic violence, DUI arrests, tax evasion and most relevant, malpractice suits. One suit is for leaving a sponge in a woman after surgery, and also causing mental distress by only putting in a single breast implant. They come in pairs!

All surgery comes with risks, and an informed patient like Donda West would understand those risks, but it doesn’t seem as if she knew that the doctor she trusted was facing these issues.

Unfortunately this verdict is inconclusive enough that it doesn’t give the family much closure.

Note by Celebitchy: TMZ is reporting that the report means that Donda had a heart attack after she had surgery, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I’m not a medical expert, but I thought the report just said that she had coronary artery disease, but that they didn’t say she had heart failure, which is termed “Myocardial Infarction” and is not mentioned anywhere in the report. It looks like they got this story wrong. (I suspected that this information was wrong and found this comment on TMZ about it.)

It still seems like Jan Adams has culpability in Dr. West’s death and needs to be held accountable for even operating on her. While a civil suit might be in order, it’s hard to tell if the West family is going to pursue one. It will most likely bring up a lot of difficult memories, but it also might bring more of Dr. Adams’ very questionable medical practices to light. This entire story is just sad and our hearts go out to the West family.

When I saw the first few words of Kanye’s latest blog entry on WeSmirch (a gossip news aggregate where I get a lot of stories) I thought he was talking about a video game. He said “When I was in Europe I would play this game for hours and hours… it helped me zone out.” It sounds like he’s talking about World of Warcraft, but he’s lauding how relaxing and mind-numbing it is to play the classic board game Connect Four, in which you take turns with another player dropping colored discs into a grid until one of you gets four in a row.

West blogged for the first time since the tragic death of his mother, Dr. Donda West, after plastic surgery in early November. He titled the entry “Thank you all for your support,” but didn’t mention the tough time he went through or his mother’s passing. He just talked about how he loves to play Connect Four. He also included these pictures playing with Beyonce, and said she kicked his ass in the game nine times in a row. He did beat her once though.

Ironically, Kanye and Beyonce were at the opening of Jay-Z’s 4040 club and casino in Las Vegas. There were plenty of high stakes games, gourmet food and expensive drinks these two millionaires could have enjoyed that night, but instead they were involved in a marathon Connect Four game outside of the action.

When I was in Europe I would play this game for hours and hours… it helped me zone out. Everybody would get envolved… Derrick Dudley (Common’s manager) and Consequence were the best other than me… I beat Lexi… Don C beat Jay… Tony Williams beat Common… but every now and then people would speak of this legendary connect 4 champion……….. BEYONCE!!! I had 2 play her!…so last night at Jay’s new 40/40 club in Las Vegas (which is sidebar, crazy big w/ 24krt gold flooring, Black Jack tables, $500 slot machines,the biggest projection screen in the universe and the best turkey burgers I’ve ever had in my life) she beat me 9 times in a row! (and I didn’t even spaz lol) here’s a photo of the only game I won!

[From Kanye West’s Blog]

Kanye has also performed since his mother passed, openly breaking down on stage when singing “Hey Momma,” but hasn’t said anything about it publicly except to issue a statement asking for privacy. He seems to be moving on with his life and enjoying the simple things again. Welcome back Kanye. Oh and Wikipedia says that you can win Connect Four if you place your first chip in the middle column, but it seems more complicated than that.

There’s a rumor that Kanye, 30, plans to marry his fiance Alexis Phifer, 31, after the holidays.

Update: Here’s the Connect Four commercial from the 80s. I remember this so well! (Yes, I’m old.) Thanks so much to commentor Max for mentioning it:

TMZ has the 911 tape of Donda West’s last moments and it’s tragic. The people with her freak out while they’re talking to the 911 operator and waste valuable time while they should be performing CPR. The 911 operator is an arrogant ass and instead of helping and jumping right in with the CPR instructions he wastes even more time asking the same questions over and over again and acting superior. I didn’t want to listen to the tapes, so don’t do it if you’re the type that will think about it and get bothered like I did. You wonder if something could have been done to resuscitate her and if one or both of the parties on the phone were more cooperative if she could have been saved. One thing the tapes (they are in two parts) brought home to me is that you should learn CPR, and can at least look it up on You Tube now before making an appointment to take a class because you may need to use it at any time.

It really annoys me that these tapes were published. If it was my family member or friend who was dead or dying on the other side I would never want this to be heard. I tried to google to see if 911 recordings were public information, and was unable to determine this. Does it vary by state and what are the laws governing release of these recordings?

Update: Thanks to commentor Rio for noting that CPR is not as effective as we might think. Here’s a scientific article about how television makes it seem like CPR has a much higher success rate than it actually does. Also thanks to the medical professionals who commented that it’s likely that there is not much that could be done for Dr. West. Our hearts go out to Kanye and his family over the holidays.

911 records seem to be available public records that can be requested through the Freedom of Information Act. (Thanks Mike D)

Update 2: By saying CPR is not as effective as it’s shown in the media, I did not mean to suggest that you shouldn’t learn and practice this life saving technique. Here’s a very good comment from reader Julie.

The chances of seeing someone regain a pulse while doing CPR are very slim. (Let alone seeing someone breathing and regaining consciousness while doing CPR - which commonly happens in TV shows and movies!) A rescuer who performs CPR is, however, keeping lifesaving oxygen in the body’s systems, making the chances of their survival higher once they reach the hospital (where medicine, defibrillation, surgery, and highly trained staff are available.) Even then, you are right that CPR isn’t a gurantee - depending on the cause of cardiac arrest, other injuries, the victim’s overall state of health - it may not work. But CPR, begun as soon as possible and done properly, can increase a person’s chance of survival.

I am a first aid and lifeguard trainer, and I always teach people to have realistic expectations of what is possible when they do CPR on someone, but I ALWAYS explain this in the context that it’s better to get trained and tried than to have done nothing at all. It is shocking to me how few people get trained in CPR……tragic stories like Donda West’s, where no one on the scene knows what to do, are sadly common.