Mon 19 Nov 2007
There are a couple youtube videos of that heartwrenching moment during Kanye’s Paris show on Saturday….I can’t believe he actually had the strength to perform at all, but when the band started playing the song “Hey Mama,” Kanye reportedly said “This song is for my mother….” and stopped and buried his head in his hands. He stood there onstage for many minutes, completely broken down. The sold-out crowd chanted in support. And some of his band-members ran over to console him. What a completely heartbreaking moment. Kanye left the stage but still came back a little while later to finish the show with “Stronger.”
EDITED NOTE: Kanye had planned to continue with his European tour (with a big show in London set for thursday night). An inside source told me Kanye would cancel to grieve, but then an hour later, I was told the concert is back on. Sometimes I guess its better to stay busy. Hope he takes care of himself.
Thanks to reader Pete Dice for posting the lyrics to “Hey Mama” on an earlier Kanye post. Here’s part of that….
…And you never put no man over me
And I love you for that mommy cant you see?
Seven years old, caught you with tears in your eyes
Cuz a nigga cheatin, telling you lies, then I started to cry
As we knelt on the kitchen floor
I said mommy Imma love you till you don’t hurt no more
And when I’m older, you aint gotta work no more…
November 19th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
i felt so bad for him when i saw this..make sme sad..noone should lose a parent the way he did and esp around the holidays..
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November 19th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
i undertsand his loss, but he wants attention, this is sad, he shouldnt perform the song, what did he think he was gonna do…greive in private, stop looking for attention…we all knwo you lost your mom, cancelt the tour an chill before you laryn hill yourself..
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November 19th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Yeah that’s rough…i agree i don’t think he should of even attempted to do that song, i wouldn’t even go near it for at least 10 years…
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November 20th, 2007 at 1:08 am
we all grieve differently..i wouldn’t say Kanye is looking for attention, he is obviously throwing himself back into work, so he can gradually overcome her loss..unfortunately she is mentioned in a lot of his music, so there is no real way around it..this story is just really depressing..
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November 20th, 2007 at 1:44 am
I agree with bree, everyone grieves in their own personal way…I’m sure if he was sitting around just twiddling his thumbs all he would be thinking about is his mother…at least he can have solace in the fact that he is doing something his mom is so proud of him doing, and celebrating her at the same time…there is no right or wrong way to grieve…
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November 20th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
well things are never going to be the same for him. Coming from experience pain get harder to deal with as the years go by. But every thing you do every step you take will have thoughts and memories(good or bad)and a the voice behind all this will be mothers that inspiration that push to tell you Baby MOMMY is all right Move on and be strong
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November 21st, 2007 at 12:50 am
EVEN THO I FEEL SORRY FOR DUDE,HE KNEW DAMN WELL THAT HE’S WAY TOO WEAK OF A MAN TO TRY TO MOVE ON SO QUICK.THIS IS THE WORST THING THAT HAPPEND TO HIM IN HIS LIFE(WE ALL KNOW HE WAS KINDA SHELTERED)AND NEEDS TO TAKE SOME TIME OFF.THIS WAS NOT A GOOD LOOK!
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November 21st, 2007 at 8:32 pm
@ lonie… i disagree; this ain’t about “a look” fam, this is real life and we all have our ways of coping; music is a place of solace so i understood exactly why he went back to touring, if he would have stayed at home it would be worse, at least this way he is being occupied…
furthermore, this was a GREAT business move as I am sure his sales have taken a boost since all this has happened, not that it was a marketing ploy but you can’t help but feel dude for showing his vulnerabilities to the world is most of us black men are scared to do…
Stay up Ye’ – we got ya’ back homie and I can’t wait until you drop some new music as this whole process including the upcoming marriage is going to produce some dope music…
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