Kanye West's Mother Dies After Surgery

Kanye West's mother died in Los Angeles Saturday after complications developed following a "cosmetic procedure," her publicist said today. Dr. Donda West, 58, a retired English professor, inspired the hip-hop superstar's 2005 hit "Hey Mama." No cause of death was released, and the family requested "privacy during this time of grief," CNN reports.

Donda West resigned the English department chair at Chicago State University in 2004 to become her son's manager. She was the co-author of this year's Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar. "She was everyone's mom," said Kanye's artistic collaborator Rhymefest. (More hip-hop stories.)