According to the New York Times (login required), Joseph Collins, the former executive director of the organization, sent out an email to his associates last month informing them that he was looking for a job because the foundation had closed.

“I am reaching out to let you know that the Kanye West Foundation (kanyewestfoundation.org) has officially closed it doors after a successful 4+ years of programming and events,” Mr. Collins wrote in the e-mail. “It has been an incredible experience working with Kanye and the board to realize his mother’s vision and I am honored to have been given the opportunity to lead the Foundation.”

The Kanye West Foundation was launched in an effort to reduce high school dropout rates.

Source: The New York Times (login required to read article)

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Video of Kanye West and his mother, the late Donda West, reciting an old verse of Kanye’s hit the internet over the weekend.

The video, shot in 2003, is believed to be an outtake from MTV’s Diary series.

RELATED: Kanye Honors Mother’s Memory Through Education

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VIA DX:

Kanye West is bringing his line from “Champion” – “They got the drop out keeping kids in the school”-to life with a new program honoring his late mother, Dr. Donda West.

Loop Dreams, renamed the Dr. Donda West Foundation after Dr. West’s 2007 passing is designed to teach children about Hip Hop and music production in an effort to curb the number of high school dropouts. The program will be anchored in the Los Angeles area.

“Since my mom died I’m about living to cultivate myself by travelling the world,” West told Contact Music. “My mom was an educator so she brought that kind of knowledge and instilled it in me. Now I’m keeping her dream alive through the foundation to take it to the next level.”

While West has often been an outspoken critic against some of Hip Hop’s ills, the producer still defends the culture that made him a superstar. He says Hip Hop is a means of expression and is no worse than a movie from a certain United States Governor.

“Hip-hop is a reflection of what’s going on. It’s a form of entertainment and it’s not steering people any differently than a movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. As a brand, I’m not defined by Hip Hop. It’s just a tool that I choose to use.”

The controversial Los Angeles plastic surgeon who came under fire for his possible role in the death of rapper Kanye West’s mother Dr. Donda West, has been sentenced to a year-long prison term in California.
Dr. Jan Adams will report to the Solano County jail in Vallejo, CA on February 6 to serve time for a June 2008 DUI arrest.
According to Bay Area Fox affiliate KTVU, Adams was arrested on June 26 in Benicia, CA after several drivers witnessed him driving his 2004 Jaguar XJ8 in the wrong direction on Highway 680.
The California Highway Patrol was alerted by several other drivers who saw 54-year-old Adams driving south on the highway’s northbound lanes.
Upon his arrest, he was found to have a blood-alcohol level of .20, more than double the legal limit in California.

For more on this story go to Allhiphop.com.

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Stephan Scoggins, a registered nurse, was supposed to be supervising West’s post-surgery care along with West’s assistant and a friend. But, a source familiar with the situation tells People.com that Scoggins left the house to attend a baby shower the day after West underwent breast reduction and liposuction last Nov. 10. West died that evening at a Los Angeles hospital.       

For the record, EURweb reported this information about Scoggins last January in an exclusive interview with Diana Pinkney, who was one of Donda West’s care givers and was with her on the day of her fatal mediacal emergency.

At the time, her death was described by a family spokesman as “the result of complications from a cosmetic surgical procedure,” a statement that placed intense scrutiny on West’s surgeon, Dr. Jan Adams. But last January, a Los Angeles coroner ruled that West died of “multiple post-operative factors,” which cleared Dr. Adams of responsibility.       

In this new development, an investigator with the California Department of Consumer Affairs has issued subpoenas asking individuals “to testify in the matter of the investigation of Stephan Scoggins,” a source tells People.

According to an autopsy report, a heavily-bandaged West was able to walk out of the medical facility after nearly five and a half hours of surgery last November. The report further stated, “[West] opted to return to her home for care even though she was advised that she receive post-operative care at another facility.”       

That night, West took Vicodin for pain, slept and felt better in the morning. Later in the day, a source tells People, Scoggins left West’s home to attend a baby shower and was unreachable when her condition worsened. According to the autopsy report, West experienced pain, a sore throat and tightening in her chest before collapsing in the early evening. A friend at the house called 911 and West was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead in the emergency room.       

The source also says investigators are looking into the possibility that Scoggins administered too much Vicodin in a short period of time.