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.

Kanye West, 30, plans to marry his fiance Alexis Phifer, 31, after the holidays. The self-important rapper faced the devastating loss of his mother, Dr. Donda West, 58, last month. Dr. West passed after complications from plastic surgery that have yet to be determined. Her plastic surgeon was recommended to her by Oprah but was the subject of multiple malpractice lawsuits and has acted less than innocent following her death. Kanye is doing his best to continue working and moving forward with his life, and plans to make it official with Alexis soon. He has realized how fleeting life is, and knows that his mother would have approved:

Kanye West has a heart-rending final tribute planned for his late mother - he intends to marry longtime fiancee Alexis Phifer right after the holidays.

“His mother’s sudden death brought into focus just how short life really is. Kanye doesn’t want to wait any longer to make Alexis his wife,” a family friend told The Enquirer.

“He believes that this is what his mom would want him to do…”

“Kanye knew how much his mother loved Alexis and how she was looking forward to seeing them get married,” continued the source.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, December 10, 2007]

The Enquirer reports that Kanye and Alexis first met in 2002 and that they “got back together in 2004,” implying that they separated for a while or weren’t serious at first. They have been engaged since August of 2006, so it sounds like it’s time for them to marry.

Do you think Kanye will go for a big ostentatious wedding or a quiet affair with friends and family? Initial impressions point to an over-the-top ceremony and reception. When you consider how modern and understated Kanye’s house is, which Bazaar says has a lot to do with fashion designer Phifer’s influence, they will probably have a luxurious but tasteful wedding. And it’s doubtful that Oprah will be invited.

Alexis has been married once before and has an 11 year-old son with football player Roman Phifer.

Update: Thanks to the commentors for pointing out that Oprah did not recommend Dr. Jan Adams to Kanye’s mother, he was just featured on Oprah’s show in a segment on plastic surgery.

Kanye and Alexis are shown at the MTV Video Music Awards on 9/9/07, and at Rolling Stone’s 40th Anniversary on 9/8/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

Dr. Jan West, Kanye West’s deceased mom Donda’s plastic surgeon, made history on the Larry King show last night by being the first guest to walk off in 22 years. Larry asked his executive producer Wendy Walker toward the end of the show if a guest had ever left like that, and she said “You have been on the air now, Larry, for 22 years. And I have never seen a guest walk off… The only time I ever remember anything like this happening was one time, Vice President Gore was late and we put your children on for the first segment before he could get there.”

This was surprising to me, but Larry King is such a softball interviewer you could see how people would never get pissed off at him enough to leave. Adams delayed his appearance, and came on after the first commercial break, saying that he wanted to appear on the show, but that he would respect the wishes of the West family that he not talk about the case:

ADAMS: I — what I really want to say is I want to thank you for this opportunity. Basically, I had come here to talk about things in the press that aren’t accurate about me. But I have a tremendous amount of love and respect for the West family. And they’ve asked me not to go on. And I’ve said from the very beginning, I don’t have a side in this. They are my side.

And so I’m going to respect their wishes. And I’m going to apologize to you because I think I’m taking up your air time. But I will not be on the show and I will not discuss any of that. I’m going to honor their wishes, OK?

KING: Meaning, you won’t answer any questions about anything?

ADAMS: None. None.

[From CNN Transcript]

Adams went on to say that he would talk about what happened when the West family was comfortable with it and he ripped the microphone off and walked dramatically off stage. He didn’t get emotional or anything, but he did look and sound scared. The thing is, he was expected to at least address some of the many claims leveled against him, including multiple malpractice suits, several DUIs, the 100k in back taxes he owes, and his ex wife’s allegations that he physically assaulted her. He didn’t talk about any of that though, and just got the hell out of there, claiming he was doing it for the West family.

It’s more likely that Adams kept his mouth shut, something he hasn’t been able to do up until this point, due to a faxed letter from the West’s attorney that was received by his lawyer just prior to his scheduled appearance.

Adams’ attorney, Alan Tenenbaum, was on the show and confirmed that he did receive a fax from the West’s attorney, which came in right “as he arrived at [Larry King's] office.” He said that it involved an issue of patient privilege, which is a civil matter, not a criminal matter, and he confirmed they could be sued for violating patient confidentiality. Adams had speculated earlier to the press that Donda died from a possible painkiller overdose, a statement that clearly violates patient doctor confidentiality. The West family has not yet announced a civil suit or an intent to sue.

Larry King said that the letter also threatened to go to the California Medical Board and have Adams’ license to practice medicine taken away if he continued to speak out about Dr. West’s case.

Adams could have talked about the other claims against him without violating Dr. West’s confidentiality, but he got scared and got the hell out of there. He does have a chance to speak out about the many stories about him that have been publicized as a result of this tragic case. He gave an interview to People Magazine that will appear in their next issue.

People senior editor Galina Espinoza was on the panel of experts commenting on Adam’s bizarre behavior on the show, and said that in that interview he dismissed the cases against him as “nuisance suits.” He also said that he never became board certified, something that is recommended but not required for physicians, because he didn’t think he needed to:

ESPINOZA: The DUIs he did not talk about. He did talk about a lot of the malpractice suits, and he dismissed most of them as “nuisance suits,” with his quote. And he did actually go on to say that in at least three cases where he did agree to a default judgment against him that if he had to do it over again, he wouldn’t do it, that he was an idiot for doing so. That was his explanation…

ESPINOZA: He was not board certified and we did ask him why he wasn’t. And he said that he did in fact start the process to become board certified, but things happened in his life. He had a serious illness. He wasn’t able to complete the process.

And then he went on to say, and I’m going to read this quote to you, saying that he wasn’t bothered by the fact that he does not have this credential, saying, we have made the board a tie to a certain level of competence, which I don’t really think is true.

So clearly, he did not think it was important for him to be board certified. He thought he was perfectly qualified.

[From CNN Transcript]

This guy is going down hard and he knows it. He must have been waiting for the axe to fall for the past few years and it was incredibly irresponsible for him to continue practicing medicine and behaving like an expert on television. Watching that show, he acted and behaved like a scared guilty person, and I hope that his license is revoked and that he’s sued into the ground. It won’t bring Kanye’s mom back, but their family might have a little justice.

Dr. Donda West’s funeral was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma yesterday. Kanye spoke at the ceremony, saying he hoped his mom would not “rest in peace, but rest in paradise.”

Here’s the video of Jan Adams walking off Larry King, thanks to TMZ:

I feel so badly for Kanye West. His mother, Donda West, passed away last week after suffering complications from a breast reduction and tummy tuck. Kanye canceled all of his public appearances for about a week, but for some reason chose to perform at his concert in Paris at Le Zénith on Saturday. I can’t imagine who would think this was a good idea. Aren’t celebrities supposed to have an entourage to talk them out of things like this? It just sounds like the kind of thing that could trigger a breakdown… which it sorta did. Though it’s certainly understandable. Kanye managed to perform for about an hour, and was going to close the show with “Hey Mama,” a song he wrote as an homage to Donda. But he couldn’t get through the introduction before he broke down in front of the crowd.

West attempted to introduce the tribute to a sold-out crowd at Le Zénith in Paris, saying “this song is for my mother….” and could get no further. “He just cracked,” one attendee tells PEOPLE, “He was at the end of his concert and had just started to dedicate the song and then he just lost it completely. He said the word, ‘Mother’ and just couldn’t go any further,” Le Parisien journalist Meddy Magloire said. “A back-up singer, the DJ and a guitar player came over to console him. It looked like he might collapse. He just couldn’t continue. He just stood there in a spotlight, crying while the band continued playing.”

After a few moments of stunned silence, Magloire says, the audience of 5,000 reacted by offering calls of encouragement, which grew into applause. The band restarted the song, but West left the stage, returning after 10-15 minutes to conclude the concert with a rousing performance of “Stronger.”

“He was very nervous, seemed to have gathered himself up, and had a lot of energy,” Magloire says. “He kept shouting out to the audience, ‘I need you… I need you right now.’ and the public was screaming back. It was magic.”

[From People]

I’m amazed that Kanye tried to perform at all. More power to him for being such a consummate professional. Kanye hadn’t been seen since his mother’s death last week. He was supposed to perform at the Victoria’s Secret show on Thursday and was replaced by the Black Eyed Peas Will.i.am. On Friday there was a memorial at Chicago State University, where Donda was a professor for 24 years. Kanye didn’t attend, which is totally understandable. It’s just very surprising that he did keep his Paris concert. We’ve certainly written a few articles about Kanye’s ego in the past – but if nothing else, part of that ego is deserved. He’s a great performer and he puts his all into his work. One would hope he’ll give himself the time and space to grieve, and not pressure himself to keep performing until he’s doing a little better. Donda’s funeral is scheduled for Tuesday in Oklahoma, and Kanye is expected to be there.

Note by Celebitchy: Here’s the video, thanks to user LionelVA36 on YouTube via ONTD. It definitely made me cry. Header image is of Kanye performing on 10/23/07 at the Power 99 FM Powerhouse Concert, before his mother passed. Thanks to Splash News.