Kanye West’s Parents Shared An Extremely Complicated Relationship Before And After His Fame

Kanye West has claimed that his parents’ negative relationship ruined his relationship with his dad for years.

In the music business, there have been very few artists who have accomplished as much as Kanye “Ye” West has. Even though West lost his billionaire status, his years of success have allowed him to become very rich and famous.

Sadly for West, however, he has dealt with a lot of strife and drama outside his career. One perfect example of that is the fact that West’s parents had a complicated relationship which affected the rapper in a big way.

How Kanye West’s Parents’ Divorce Affected His Relationship With His Father

After Kanye West and Kim Kardashian became a couple in 2012, they built a family together. In February 2021, West and Kardashian decided to split, and they finalized their divorce in November 2022, according to Who’s Dated Who.

When West and Kardashian were still figuring out their divorce, he addressed the subject of raising his kids after the former couple’s breakup. In a social media post inspired by that subject, West revealed that his parents’ divorce ruined his relationship with his father.

In February 2022, West was angry that Kardashian allowed their kids to appear on TikTok. As a part of the drama at that time, West posted on social media about how some of Kardashian’s cousins had reached out to say he was right.

Bianca Censori’s friends saw notable differences in her personality and lifestyle after she married the extremely controversial rap icon.

For this article, the important thing is what his argument with Kardashian inspired West to share on social media at that time.

After sharing that Kardashian’s cousins believed he was right, West elaborated on why he felt the argument was worth having. Putting aside West’s feelings about his kids being on TikTok, the rapper argued that he was fighting for parents who feel cut out of the decision-making about their kids.

To back up West’s claim that he was sticking up for other divorced parents, he brought up his own childhood in an Instagram post.

“MY DAD DIDN’T HAVE MONEY OR A PUBLIC VOICE WHEN MY MOM DESTROYED ME AND HIS RELATIONSHIP. I DO THIS FOR EVERY PARENT ON EITHER SIDE WHO’S KIDS FUTURES ARE BEING ONE SIDEDLY CONTROLLED. I DON’T EVEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO GET ANGRY AS A FATHER WITHOUT BEING CALLED ERATIC.”

Based on what West has said about his parents and his father in particular, it seems legitimate that his parents didn’t get along following their divorce. After all, it appears that West only rebuilt his connection with his dad after his mom passed away.

According to a Newsweek article about West’s Netflix documentary Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy, his parents broke up when he was three years old. West was then brought up by his mom, who adored the rapper from all accounts and took a lot of pride in his success.

In November 2007, West’s mom, Donda West, went under for cosmetic surgery and never woke up again. According to Newsweek’s aforementioned article, Donda West’s “death was caused by heart failure due to multiple post-operative factors”.

Years later, in 2019, it was revealed that West had reunited with his father, Ray West. On top of West and his father reconciling, Ray West starred in the music video for his son’s song “Follow God”.

At the end of the music video for “Follow God”, a statement appears onscreen that was written by West. In part of the statement, West explained what he’d realized about how much his father means to him.

“My dad came to visit me at one of our ranches in Cody, Wyoming. He talked about his love for fishing, and how he would come here in the summers. It took me 42 years to realize that my dad was my best friend. He asked me, ‘how many acres is this?’ I told him 4000. He replied with these three words: ‘A black man?’”

Kanye West’s Parents Led Incredible Lives And His Dad Was A Black Panthers Member

In February 2022, Newsweek published an article about Kanye West’s mother. As a part of that article, the publication revealed who West’s mom was before her untimely passing. According to what that article revealed, West’s mom was an exceptional woman.

An audience member complained that certain parts of Kanye West’s interview with David Letterman were removed by Netflix.

“West’s mother Donda was a professor at Chicago State University where she worked for 31 years, 24 of which in the Department of English, Communications, Media and Theater. She raised the musician in Chicago as a single mother after she and ex-husband Ray separated when West was 3 years old. As West’s music career grew, his mother decided to retire from her position at Chicago State University and moved to Los Angeles so she could become his full-time ‘momager’ from 2004.”

On top of Donda West’s career, West’s mom also tried to move on following her divorce by remarrying. In 2016, Donda West’s ex-husband Willie Scott spoke to The Daily Mail and stated that West’s jealousy came between his marriage.

“Kanye didn’t want me with his mother or any man for that matter. He was wrapped up into his mother. We went to a counselor to see if we could get him on the right path. But Donda wasn’t interested. She wanted ME on the right path. And that is what the dilemma was.”

In 2022, The U.S. Sun published an article about who Kanye West’s father is. As it turns out, Ray West led an amazing life that included a fantastic career that allowed him to interact with legendary figures.

When were Kanye West’s parents born, according to Famous Birthdays?

“Ray was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and worked with Maya Angelou and Ronald Reagan.”

The U.S. Sun also revealed that Ray West was a member of The Black Panthers many years ago. “He was also a member of the Black Panther Party during the 1960s and 70s.