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Ye returned to his hometown of Chicago this week to participate in a special ceremony that honored his late mother, Dr. Donda West.
On Tuesday, September 22, the artist formerly known as Kanye West pulled up to the intersection of 78th Street and South Shore Drive in Chicago's South Side for a street-naming ceremony that acknowledged 78th Street as "Dr. Donda West Way." The new street name recognized Professor West's decades-long contributions to education, literature and culture in Chicago. While standing with 7th Ward Alderman Greg Mitchell, Donda's son was adamant about revealing the street sign bearing his mother's name himself.
Ye didn't speak at the event, but his presence was felt throughout the neighborhood. Before she passed away in 2007, Dr. Donda West was a professor at Chicago State University. She served as chair of the English Department and established the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing. The intersection that was renamed in her honor is down the street from Donda's House, which is now a historic landmark. It's the home that Kanye West grew up in before he became a successful artist.
Chicago has shown Ye a lot of love over the past few weeks. The controversial artist recently performed in his hometown for two nights as part of his independent international tour. The seasoned rapper and producer brought out a slew of special guests to perform with him, including Kid Cudi, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Twista, Lupe Fiasco, Don Toliver and more.
Watch the entire street naming ceremony below.