Kanye West's Dealing With "Unresolved Grief" From Mom's Death, Family Friend Says

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Donda West's ex-boyfriend speaks on Kanye's latest antics.

Though a rant from Kanye West is to be expected ahead of the release of a new album, concern for Kanye's well-being reached an all-time high this week following his presidential rally in South Carolina. Kim Kardashian has stated that Kanye is currently having a manic episode and that's why he's been erratic on social media. However, a close family friend of Kanye suspects that the artist is still dealing with "unresolved grief" stemming from his mother's death.

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Ulysses Blakely, a family friend of Kanye who dated Donda West, spoke to PageSix about the rapper's recent antics. “My personal feeling — just from the person I know — is that this is unresolved grief,” Blakely said. "He has not recovered from the loss of his mother... They had such a close bond.”

Donda began dating Blakely after she had moved from Georgia to Chicago with Kanye West. Blakely chimed in on Kanye's rally in South Carolina where he stated that Harriet Tubman "never actually freed the slaves."

"Many of the things he said are not correct, but I’m distressed and concerned about where such things come from. Where did he get those ideas about Harriet Tubman? You know that’s not correct, so where did he get that ideation from?” Blakely said. “You can see his emotional distress and it pains me to see that. Donda would have been upset to see her son now, [because] he’s clearly in pain."

Kanye had announced that his new album Donda: With Child would be released yesterday, though as expected, it hasn't arrived yet. Though new music from Kanye West is always welcomed, 'Ye's mental and physical health is far more important than the release of a new album. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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