Kanye West issues statement after mother's death

Kanye West has issued an official statement after it emerged yesterday that Donda West, his mother, had died on Saturday after complications during cosmetic surgery.

Not going into too much personal detail, the note points well-wishers in the direction of Loop Dreams, a subsection of the Kanye West Foundation that aims to use hip-hop teachings to deal with high school dropout rates.

That statement in full:

"Kanye West, his family and friends would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and kind words that have come in from across the country since the death of his mother, Dr Donda West.

"After working in higher education for 31 years, Dr Donda West and Kanye West co-founded the Kanye West Foundation, with the mission of helping to combat the severe dropout problem in high schools across the country.

"The first and signature initiative of the Kanye West Foundation is Loop Dreams. Designed to capitalise on students' existing interest in hip-hop, Loop Dreams challenges students to learn more about what's behind hip-hop culture in order to help them develop skills, express themselves creatively and be empowered.

"In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Dr West's name to the Kanye West Foundation/Loop Dreams Teacher Training Institute. Those donations can be made by visiting the Foundations website, KanyeWestFoundation.org or by mail at Kanye West Foundation, 8560 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069.”