Kanye West Drags His Dad Into His Family Drama With Ex-Wife Kim Kardashian
By Allison DeGrusheMar. 17 2022, Published 4:52 p.m. ET
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know all about the ongoing feud between Kanye "Ye" West and his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. The former power couple, whose messy divorce became official in early March 2022, find themselves battling over issues concerning their children, specifically regarding custody and parenting styles.
The 41-year-old Keeping up With the Kardashians star has attempted to keep Kanye away from their kids. Although Kanye is struggling to preserve his relationships with his kids, his own dad, Ray West, has maintained a healthy relationship with his son. Here's everything you need to know about him.
Who is Kanye "Ye" West's dad, Ray West?
Meet Kanye's father, Ray West, the 73-year-old who has lived quite a life full of different career paths and endeavors. According to Hollywood Life, Ray started as one of the first Black photojournalists for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, capturing the likes of "Maya Angelou, Ronald Reagan, and civil rights activist Ralph David Abernathy."
Additionally, Ray worked as a paparazzo, marriage counselor, and store owner. Besides his admirable credentials, Ray has been an outspoken advocate for social justice; in the 1960s and '70s, he was a Black Panther.
Although Ray put his activism on pause for quite some time, he returned a few years ago when he founded the Good Water foundation in the Dominican Republic. Per the Daily Mail, Ray's charity helps "help victims of prostitution and corruption."
Kanye also disclosed in an interview with BBC that Ray even willingly moved into a homeless shelter "not because he was homeless" but "because he wanted to help the ex-drug addicts."
Kanye claims that his father, Ray, is his best friend.
Following a prostate cancer diagnosis in 2018, Ray left the Dominican Republic and returned to the United States to receive treatment. He's since gone back to the Dominican Republic, but during his stay in the United States, Ray reconnected with Kanye, so much so that he even starred in his 44-year-old son's music video for his 2019 single, "Follow God."
"My dad came to visit me at one of our ranches in Cody, Wyoming," the rapper penned at the end of the video. "He talked about his love for fishing and how he could come here in the summers. It took me 42 years to realize that my dad was my best friend. He asked me, 'How many acres is this?' I told him '4,000.' He replied with these three words: 'A Black man?'"
Despite Kanye's parents splitting up when he was young, he and his dad have always had a pretty solid relationship. Hollywood Life reported that Kanye spent his summers with Ray in Atlanta, and his dad always helped take care of Kanye and his late mother, Donda.
Kanye's father, Ray West was a former Black Panther & an award-winning photographer pic.twitter.com/BAMWRryEKu
— Kardashian Facts (@KardashTruths) August 30, 2019However, is their relationship in danger? Kanye recently spoke with Hollywood Unlocked about his current familial drama, revealing he "begged" his dad to call Kim Kardashian.
"I was begging him to call Kim and he was refusing to do it. He said, 'I don’t want to talk.' And I said, 'Dad, I need your help. I can’t see my kids, I can’t do this," Kanye explained. Well, hopefully, this will all be sorted out soon and everyone can move on!
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