Kanye West, Mother Honored Following Listening Party in Atlanta

 

Last night in front of an estimated crowd of 55,000 fans, and with his family in tow, Kanye West debuted
his latest album “Donda,” in the type of spectacle that has rarely been seen since the beginning of the Covid era.

Wearing a ski-mask and decked out in red from head-to-toe — a color scheme his estranged wife Kim Kardashian, who was in attendance for the event along with her sister Khloe — matched, West did his Kanye Best to sell his 10th studio effort named in honor of his late mother Donda West.

Videos of the event online, held at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, show a boisterous crowd and contain some snippets of the previewed tracks, including a verse from Jay Z  (see below) which fueled speculation the longtime collaborators have put their problems in the past following years of alleged feuding.

As to whether the project indicates a return to form for the “The College Dropout” mastermind or a drop-off remains to be seen. The album was set to drop at midnight but as of press time for this article Friday (3:45 p.m.) still hadn’t appeared on streaming services.

West, will have to wait to receive his Roses — if there are any to give — for his latest effort, but Atlanta made sure its native son’s mother was honored.

TMZ reported that the City of Atlanta officially proclaimed July 22 Kanye West Day and presented the musician with a plaque following the performance:

On top of that, and perhaps more importantly to Kanye ... Kevin James -- President of ATL's HBCU, Morris Brown College -- was also on hand to give Ye a token of appreciation on behalf of his mom, Donda West, who taught at the school for nearly 2 decades and was Chair of the English Department.

The award presented to Kanye is called the Dr. Donda West Meritorious Service to Morris Brown College. Donda started her career at Morris Brown, which was founded in 1881 and is the only HBCU in Georgia founded by Black people.

It must have been a nice moment for West who proved he hasn’t forgotten his roots by giving 5,000 free tickets to the listening party to several Atlanta-area HBCUs, including Morris Brown, and TMZ added that it was a moving one for the artist.

Our sources say his family was with him when he received the awards backstage, and he got super emotional about it.

 

 

“Made in the image of GOD, that’s a Selfie” - Jay Z

Kanye West & Jay Z did that! 🐐 🐐 #DONDApic.twitter.com/oGtBiZjXGr

— Akpraise (@AkpraiseMedia) July 23, 2021