Directed by Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah, Netflix’s “Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy” gives us a glimpse into the formative days of the rapper’s career as well as his experiences as a superstar today. He thus explores all aspects of his life to highlight his hard work, his values, his hidden but witty charm, and his journey from a relatively unsuccessful producer to a global hitmaker, among many others. However, now that even the documentary has identified that Kanye was incredibly close to his mother, let’s dig deeper into his real-life relationship with his father, shall we?

Who is Kanye West’s father?

Kanye West was born to Donda and Ray West in Atlanta, Georgia on June 8, 1977, to be primarily raised by the former in Chicago, Illinois once they divorced after five years of marriage – while he was only 3 years old. Said, since the entertainer spent most of his summers right next to his dad and they never really had any significant issues with each other, it’s obvious that they’re also relatively close. Kanye actually went so far as to claim that Ray readily supported/provided for them despite financial troubles to ensure that all of his dreams could one day come true.

According to reports, Ray has been a man of many vocations over the decades, going from being a member of the Black Panthers to becoming one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Apart from that, he also devoted himself to his faith, served as a marriage counselor and opened a cafe in Lexington Park, Maryland with the help of start-up capital donated by his son.

Ray is even a passionate advocate for social justice, which is why he started the Good Water Foundation in the Dominican Republic a few years ago to help victims of prostitution, drug addiction, corruption, and more. In fact, he also voluntarily moved to a former homeless shelter, “not because he was homeless,” Kanye revealed, but “because he wanted to help ex-addicts; he wanted to be closer this side.

Where is Kanye West’s dad now?

Although approaching his mid-70s, from what we can tell, Ray West continues to reside in the Dominican Republic to this day, where he spends most of his time serving the community through his institution. non-profit. Reportedly, Kanye’s dad is self-funding his profession as a purified water seller, and all proceeds from that sale go directly to other projects like women’s healthcare or support organizations.

In 2018, Ray returned to the United States of America after being diagnosed with prostate cancer to receive proper treatment, but returned when he went into remission. During that time, however, he reconnected with his son to such an extent that he even got to feature in the music video for “Fellow God,” a single from Kanye’s 2019 album, “Jesus Is King.”

“My dad came to visit me at one of our ranches in Cody, Wyoming,” the rapper wrote in the video’s ending card. “He talked about his love for fishing and how he could come here in the summer. It took me 42 years to realize that my father was my best friend. He asked me, ‘How many acres is that?’ I told him “4,000”. He responded with these three words: ‘A black man?’ »

Read more: How did Donda West die?