The Organization Founded in Memory of Kanye West's Mother Will No Longer Use Her Name

A social media feud with Kim Kardashian sparked the change.

A Twitter exchange between Kim Kardashian and Rhymefest, a former collaborator of Kanye West has led to the nonprofit organization that was founded to honor Kanye's mother dropping her name from their title.

On Saturday, May 26, Rhymefest (AKA Che Smith) tweeted about Donda’s House, and alleged a lack of involvement on Kanye’s part. "I’m asking @Drake to help the part of Chicago Kanye has Abandoned! Please contact @DondasHouse," Rhymefest wrote, referencing the non-profit organization dedicated to "supporting Chicago's young creatives," and named after Kanye's late mother Donda West, who passed away in 2007. The organization was founded in 2011 by Kanye, Rhymefest, and Donnie Smith.

Rhymefest added, "@Drake when G.O.O.D. Music sends the money they owe you, will you please help us rebuild Kanye’s mother's house for the youth of Chicago. I spoke to Kanye about it. His response was 'f*ck the youth of Chicago.'" Rhymefest was referring to an invoice Drake Instagrammed, in which he charged Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint and parent company Def Jam $100,000 for "promotional assistance and career reviving" — another thread in his ongoing feud with Kanye and Pusha T.

These tweets came on the heels of a May 25th statement from Donda's House, seemingly distancing themselves from Kanye given his recent comments about slavery being a "choice," and apparent support of President Donald Trump. "While we cannot and do not speak for Kanye West and his views, we can and will speak up for the youth that we serve," Donda's House said in their statement. "We ask that those who feel hurt, angered by or frustrated with Kanye West not penalize or throw away their support, respect and advocacy for us."

Enter Kim, who responded to Rhymefest by claiming that Kanye's former collaborator was "over-leveraging" her husband's name, and that he hasn't "been able to sustain the foundation." She went on to say: "I saw you at our studio a few weeks ago so why didn’t you bring this up then....? You were trying to get Kanye to listen to your sub par beats. You have the audacity to use Kanye’s mom's name to try to shed a negative light on Kanye."

In another tweet, Kim wrote: "You better believe I will make it my mission to take Donda’s House from you and let my children run it the way it should be run!" She ended her thread with a message to her own fans, concluding: "Sorry to all of my followers for flooding my timeline; I know you have no idea who Rhymefest is."

In response, Rhymefest issued an official statement, claiming that he and Kanye have been in contact for the past few months. He also said that Kanye was more "interested in his record" than helping with Donda's House. "How can you criticize an organization that you've never physically been to OR that you've never even talked to the Executive Director or any of the team?" Rhymefest's note asked. "I encourage you instead of attacking me personally, to Google us, watch the videos on our YouTube channel featuring our work, and come actually speak to the young people who have been involved in our program...."

Donda's House released another statement that they would no longer be using the name of Kanye's mother in their organization's title. "Due to recent events that have occurred over the last 48 hours, we have decided to no longer use the name Donda's House, Inc.," the statement began. "This has been an incredibly difficult decision, but the social media quotes from Kim Kardashian West, as well as the expressed interest of her family running the organization, has brought us to this decision."

"We encourage Kim and Kanye to indeed pick up the baton of service,” the statement urged, adding that they plan to "reach out to their partners in the coming weeks with next steps."

Both Kim and Kanye have yet to respond to the official statements from Rhymefest or Donda's House.

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