Kanye West Shares Heartwarming Throwback Photo Of Late Mother Donda
It's safe to say one of Kanye West's biggest heartbreaks was the death of his mother, Donda West. In fact, it's a painful loss many believe he never truly recovered from. According to People, the former English professor, who served as the rapper's "momager" and even wrote a book about raising him, died at age 58 of heart failure in November 2007, one day after having several cosmetic surgery procedures, including liposuction and a breast reduction.
Years after her death, in an interview with Q Magazine (via E! News) in June 2015, West revealed the guilt he feels for leaving Chicago. He said, "If I had never moved to L.A. she'd be alive ... I don't want to go far into it because it will bring me to tears." Kanye's pain continued to show when he claimed was going to use a photo of the doctor who performed Donda's final surgery as his album cover, per The Guardian. (FYI: He never went through with it.)
In 2020, Donda's former boyfriend, Ulysses Blakely, told Page Six that her death changed Kanye and that a lot of the hip-hop star's bizarre behavior was due to "unresolved grief." These days, it's unclear how Kanye is coping, but on November 11, he shared a throwback photo of his late mom.
The sweet image is from when Kanye was a baby
Kanye West shared a sweet tribute for his mom Donda West via Instagram on November 11 — a throwback photo of her smiling at him when he was a baby. The caption-less post comes less than three months after West released his 10th studio album, "Donda," named for his late mother.
In the past, West has shared others posts honoring Donda (via Refinery 29). It's unclear what exactly inspired the rapper to share his latest throwback, but he's previously expressed how much she would be enjoying her life if she were still alive today. "This would have been the funnest time of her life," he said in a promotional video from his appearance on David Letterman's Netflix show "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction" in 2019. "To have those kids running around that house, and being able to, like, go and buy them toys." West later recalled the memory of her buying him a bear before adding, "But she's here with us and she's guiding us."
Fans of West quickly flooded to the comments section, and it seems that people are just taking a moment to appreciate this sweet, quiet moment.