West Uses Hip-Hop to Keep Kids in School

07 June 2009

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Kanye West has launched a scheme to teach youngsters about hip-hop and music production in honour of his late mother.

Loop Dreams is a branch of the Kayne West Foundation - renamed the Dr Donda West Foundation by the rap superstar when his mother passed away in November 2007 following complications from plastic surgery.

The organisation was set up by Dr West in 2007 to help combat the number of students dropping out of school, and a new Los Angeles-based program is the latest scheme from the organisation.

Since my mom died I'm about living to cultivate myself by travelling the world

The rapper says, "Since my mom died I'm about living to cultivate myself by travelling the world. My mom was an educator so she brought that kind of knowledge and instilled it in me. Now I'm keeping her dream alive through the foundation to take it to the next level".

The hip-hop mogul also defends the genre against claims it encourages violence, insisting rap is merely a way of expressing himself.

He adds, "Hip-hop is a reflection of what's going on. It's a form of entertainment and it's not steering people any differently than a movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. As a brand, I'm not defined by hip-hop. It'sjust a tool that I choose to use".

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