Guest Author - Elizabeth Borer

Kanye West is mourning the loss of his mother, Dr. Donda West, after she passed away November 10, 2007. There are still many questions as to why Donda West died after Dr. Jan Adams performed a breast reduction operation, tummy tuck and liposuction on the 58 year-old woman the day before. As reported by People Magazine, the surgery was performed at an unidentified LA area hospital reportedly lasting 8 hours, longer than initially planned. Whether the death came from complications from surgery or some other unknown cause will be determined within a few weeks after the completion of testing by the coroner.

Dr. Donda West was previously the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University, where Kanye attended for a period of time before dropping out to further pursue his music career. Since retiring, Dr. West served as manager to her son.

Dr. Jan Adams was on the schedule to be interviewed on CNN’s Larry King Live Tuesday, November 20, though the appearance didn’t last long enough to have any questions answered. Before Larry King had a chance to get any information out of the Doctor, Adams chose to end the interview and walk off set sighting his choice to respect the wishes of the family. Dr. Adams reportedly agreed to appear on the show to clear up false claims in the media. The short interview happened just hours after the funeral of Donda West in a suburb of Oklahoma City.

Kanye West, 30, is most known as a producer and rapper in the hip-hop music industry. The Grammy winning artist has released 3 successful albums: The College Dropout in 2004, Late Registration in 2005, and the 2007 release of Graduation. West has a reputation for having a somewhat bloated ego when it comes to how he feels about his own musical successes. He has been knows to make public comments regarding a loss at an awards ceremony, most recently at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards where he was visibly upset after losing all 5 categories that he was nominated for. In addition to the attention given to him following such ceremonies, West has started controversy over non-music related incidents. During the events following Hurricane Katrina, West made his political and social views well known, not only standing up for the people who were victims of the disaster, but also stating his disapproval of how the situation had been handled by the government. Kanye West’s statements during a benefit concert stand out to many people when thinking of celebrity involvement after the disaster.

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the death of his mother, or past criticisms of the artist, West deserves the support of the public to get through such a difficult time. The music community, his fans and compassionate individuals who can sympathize with the pain of losing a parent need to focus on the family and their loss in this time following such a tragedy.