Donda’s House is no more.
On Tuesday, leaders of the nonprofit—established in memory of Kanye West’s late mother, Donda West—revealed it has officially changed its name to Art of Culture, Inc. It was an expected move that was announced shortly after Kim Kardashian got into a heated Twitter exchange with Donda’s House co-founder Rhymefest.
Here’s a quick refresher: During his recent back-and-forth with Pusha-T last month, Drake sent the G.O.O.D. Music president a $100,000 invoice for “career revival.” Rhymefest, who founded Donda’s House alongside Kanye and Donnie Smith, reached out to Drake shortly after, asking if he could contribute some of that money towards rebuilding Donda’s Chicago home for at-risk youth. Rhymefest claimed ‘Ye had abandoned his hometown and showed no interest in moving the nonprofit forward.
Kim immediately defended her husband and began accusing Rhymefest of spreading “fake community politics & lies.” She also blasted him for creating “subpar” music beats and rocking fake Yeezys.
After the social media blowup, leaders of Donda’s House announced they intended to continue the charity’s mission but under a different name. Their statement read:
Over the last few months, due to Mr. West's controversial public political statements, the organization received communications of concern from sponsors, foundations and supporters. Students, alumni, volunteers and staff of the group met Saturday to discuss recent developments and the future of the organization. The group decided that the organization will maintain its mission, but will have a new name both to avoid confusion and honor the stated wishes of the West family. Going forward Donda's House will be known as Art of Culture, Inc.”
In a press release published Tuesday, the team behind Art of Culture, Inc., elaborated on their decision to rename Donda’s House. They also made sure to thank Kanye for the contributions he made within the first two years following the nonprofit’s inception.
The statement read in part:
Donnie Smith, the executive director of the organization, insisted the charity will continue its commitment to Chicago’s youth, despite the name change and severed ties with Kanye.
“We will always respect the memory and example set by Dr. Donda West. We revere her work and were fortunate to have been taught by her,” Smith said. “As we continue our work, we hope that this name change will represent an evolution of the organization and will result in more service and greater impact.”
