Kanye West Dedicates Chicago Performance to Late Mother

Kanye West has never been shy about sharing his feelings, and last Thursday (Dec. 1), as he and Jay-Z brought their 'Watch the Throne' tour to Chicago for the second straight night, Yeezy opened up about his late mother.

"I wanna dedicate this show to the lady that brought me to Chicago at age 3," 'Ye told the hometown audience. "The first black female chair of the English department at Chicago State University -- Doctor Donda Claire-Ann West."

Donda West died in 2007 from complications of cosmetic surgery. Around the same time, Kanye split with fiancee Alexis Phifer, and the pain of those two events led to the following year's '808s & Heartbreak,' an album that left some fans perplexed.

During his Chi-Town remarks, West painted himself a societal outcast -- he must not have read the glowing reviews for 2010's 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' -- and thanked his mother for giving him the inspiration to continue.

"I know she up there looking down right now and she helped me get through these past four years, when America turned their back on me, when the world turned their back on me for telling y'all the motherf---ing truth," he said.

West, who had nabbed seven Grammy nominations the night before and leads this year's field, wasn't done dispensing with the gratitude.

"I just wanna thank Beyonce and Jay-Z for standing by me in my darkest hours," he said. "And you, Chicago, for standing by me in my darkest hours ... And giving me a reason to feel like I should stay alive when the world thought I should die and staying by my side."