Kim, Kanye and the Donda House controversy
CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 5/29/2018, 2:55 p.m.
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) -- Kim Kardashian West is defending her husband after drama unfolded this weekend over a charity he founded.
It all began with a rap feud.
Rappers Drake and Pusha-T each released diss tracks targeting the other on Friday.
In " "Duppy Freestyle," Drake responds to Pusha-T's single "Infared" with a line that references West.
"Tell 'Ye we got an invoice comin' to you/," Drake raps. "Considering we just sold another 20 for you."
West produced Pusha-T's album, "Daytona," on which "Infared" is included.
Drake followed the line with an invoice he shared on social media.
Chicago rapper Rhymefest entered into the fray, too. He tweeted to Drake that once he received said money from the label West founded in 2004, he should donate some of it to help the charity West founded.
"@Drake when G.O.O.D. Music sends the money they owe you, will you please help us rebuild Kanye's mothers house for the youth of Chicago. I spoke to Kanye about it," Rhymefest tweeted Friday. "His response was "fk the youth of Chicago."
Rhymefest is a longtime friend and collaborator of West, who help start Donda's House in 2011 in honor of West's mother, Donda West, an educator who died in 2007 of complications following cosmetic surgery.
Rhymefest calling West out did not sit well with West's wife.
Kim Kardashian West took to Twitter to defend her husband in a series of tweets on Saturday.
"U haven't been right since u got kicked out of the studio in Hawaii wearing fake Yeezy's @RHYMEFEST," Kardashian West tweeted. "You're over levergenging Kanye's name & asked Kanye to donate money to u so stop w your fake community politics & lies. Truth is you haven't been able to sustain the foundation."
She also berated Rhymefest for not bringing up the issue privately and threatened to make it her "mission to take Donda's House from you and let my children run it the way it should be run!"
Rhymefest responded with a lengthy statement posted on Twitter.
"I spoke to your husband about peace, and balance, as well as about the work that we have been doing in Chicago regarding Donda's House," the statement read in part. "He was more interested in his record."
Hours later, Donda's House released a statement that -- because of the feud -- the organization would no longer be using that name.
On Sunday, Kardashian West sent another series of tweets in which she attempted to explain why her husband was no longer involved with the charity.
According to her, "After several years of lack of performance from the organization and Kanye going through personal financial issues, he could no longer fund salaries. Rhymefest asked to take it over and Kanye agreed with no financial strings attached."
"I have and will always applaud any efforts to give back to the community," she wrote. "To fight for justice and to help uplift the youth. But I will never tolerate someone who was close to Kanye who attempts to use his late mother's name to publicly shame him while pretending to do good."
The reality star added, "I will always ride for my man!"
According to the organization's site, the charity was conceived by West, Rhymefest and Donnie Smith to assist at-risk Chicago youth.
In that same statement, the organization sought to distance itself from West's recent controversial tweets and actions that had led some to call for a boycott of the rapper.
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"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," the statement read. "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."