Kanye West was spotted coming out of the Louis Vuitton store by TMZ and the pap wished him a Happy Kwanzaa (probably trying to be a smart ass because Kanye is Black and he was obviously not) — but Kanye doesn’t celebrate the African tradition. The pap is obviously a prick as he shows when he makes the comment about the “Airport Incident”. TMZ is always instigating shit. That’s why celebs are starting to clock these fools and I don’t blame them.

Rapper-producer Kanye West has already made his New Year’s resolution.  West has promised to make his peace with the paparazzi.

He has been arrested on two different occasions this year after altercations with photographers.

West was arrested by police in Newcastle last month after he was accused of pushing a camera into a snapper’s face. He was subsequently released without any charge.

The rapper and his assistant were also arrested over an incident at Los Angeles’ LAX airport in September. They both were charged with felony vandalism after reportedly smashing a pap’s camera. The charges were later dropped by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.

Westr is adamant that in 2009 he will make more of an effort to be pleasant to photographers.

He tells TMZ, “I love you guys. That’s my New Year’s resolution. Me and the paparazzi.”

Kanye is set to become a true FASHIONISTA (LOL):

According to reports, West is planning to move to London to pursue his love of fashion.

He is reportedly set to move to the capital to take on an apprenticeship at a design house in an attempt to learn the basics of his craft.

The hip-hop star, who is currently designing his own line called Pastelle, is said to be applying to train at leading fashion firms across Europe, including Louis Vuitton’s headquarters in London.

West says, “I’m going to go and take an internship and just do something that’s like completely normal - and just rap at the weekends or something.”

A source tells the Daily Mirror, “He’s applying at Louis Vuitton, Raf Simmons and others.

“Everyone is surprised at just how seriously Kanye is taking his fashion dream. He is always in the front rows during the Paris and Milan fashion weeks. He absolutely loves London and wants to absorb the fashion over here.”

Once you have a faithful fanbase it doesn’t matter what kind of music you put out:

Kanye West has stormed back to the top of the US album chart, beating GUNS N’ ROSES to number one.

West’s 808s & Heartbreak becomes the rapper’s third chart-topping album after selling 450,000 copies in its first week on release.

Beyonce’s I Am … Sasha Fierce drops from the top spot to four and Ludacris rounds out the top five with his new release Theater of The Mind.

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Producer/rapper Kanye West recently commented on how great Beyoncé Knowles is. According to West, Beyonce might even be greater than Tina Turner.

He says, “Nobody really wants to recognize that Beyoncé is a f***ing living legend and that she is just as great, if not greater, than the artists that we had in the past…that she’s probably greater than Tina Turner
.”

I’m not a big fan of Tina Turner but how he could compare Beyonce to someone who has a career that has spanned over 4 decades is baffling.

More drama for Kanye:

Over a year after the rapper’s mother, Dr. Donda West, died from complications following plastic surgery, press reports say an investigation is being launched into the possible role her nephew played in her post-surgery care.

A registered nurse, Stephan Scoggins was supervising his aunt’s recovery with her assistant and a friend when, according to reports, he left the house to attend a baby shower. The autopsy report says when Donda started to experience pain, a sore throat and tightening in her chest, she was unable to contact Scoggins and collapsed. The friend at the house called 911, but Donda was pronounced dead at the hospital.

While the blame initially fell on Donda’s surgeon, Dr. Jan Adams, a coroner’s report cleared him. Now the California Department of Consumer Affairs has reportedly launched an investigation into Scoggins’ professional conduct, including whether he gave Donda too much Vicodin, a pain reliever, in too short period of a time.

If it is determined that Scoggins was negligent, he could lose his nursing license.

This has been a difficult year for Kanye, who was rocked by his mother’s passing. In April, he broke off his engagement to Alexis Phifer. Since September, he’s been arrested twice for run-ins with photographers. He wasn’t charged in either incident.

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Reactions to Kanye’s new album have not been good at all:

Kanye West says he’s not concerned about whether his new album is a blockbuster, because he’s made “great art” - and he feels really good about it.

West’s new CD, “808s & Heartbreak,” was released Monday. It’s a departure for the 31-year-old rapper because it mostly features him singing.

West says he was ready to take a risk and he thinks it paid off.

Says West: “You know people sometimes don’t understand great art when they first hear it, but I am very confident in it. Whether it sells as much as the last one, or way more, I feel like I am just successful in doing something I felt really good about.”

Sorry Kanye but nobody wants to hear your a$$ trying to sing. Your a rapper so rap. If you could sing a little then maybe it would be ok, but you can’t so give it a rest. You don’t see Chris Brown and Usher putting out rap albums do you ??? Just ask Tyrese about trying to be a singer releasing a damn rap album.

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Kanye West has criticized paparazzi photographers after he was briefly arrested following an incident at a Newcastle nightclub. West was detained early on Friday morning following a complaint from freelance photographer Terry Blackburn. But West, who featured on Estelle’s number one single American Boy earlier this year, was released without a charge.

“Right now, the paps are above the law and the people who they shoot are below it,” he wrote on his official website. Mr Blackburn told BBC 1Xtra on Friday the incident happened outside the Tup Tup Palace club.

He said: “He had four women around him. As I approached the car which he was getting into, he ran around the back and I ran around the front to try and meet him around the side. “Just a just as soon as I put my camera up to my face, that was it - he just pushed it in my face.” The incident left him with his nose “cut open”, Mr Blackburn claimed.

I am a normal person that’s just famous - I refuse to sneak in and out of back doors and kitchens of hotels
Kanye West
But West said: “When I left the club, I was encountered by a thirsty paparazzi as usual. He felt he had more rights to my space than me, so I put my hand up to prevent him from taking my image.

“I didn’t assault him, merely putting my hand up to cover his lens. My security yelled, ‘Get the camera off him.’

“I guess in all the commotion the camera scraped his nose.”

West was later arrested by officers at his hotel in Gateshead, and taken to a police station.

“The cops were very cordial but told me they had to arrest me because a complaint was filed,” he said.

“That was the bogus part. They still had to go through the motions.

“When I got back to the hotel there were paparazzi hanging above the bridge above the hotel trying to get a shot of me getting out of the police van. Even though I wasn’t charged, the damage was done.”

West added: “Let us not forget that the paps killed Princess Diana. When will there be a law passed… that someone has to ask to take a photograph of you? That would seem like common courtesy.

“What should be illegal is pictures taken with the intent to sell - like drugs with the intent to sell.”

“I am not a celebrity,” he continued. “I am a normal person that’s just famous. I refuse to sneak in and out of back doors and kitchens of hotels.”

West, whose UK tour ends in Manchester on Monday, was also involved in a scuffle with a photographer at a LA airport in September.

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Kanye West’s love may not be the only thing that needs to be put on lockdown-his fists might also want to consider it.

The rapper was arrested on suspicion of assault in Newcastle, England, early this morning, after allegedly getting into a physical altercation with a paparazzo.

Northumbria Police have confirmed to E! News that a 31-year-old man was arrested and released without charge and that no further action will be taken. West was not identified by name-per U.K. police policy, arrestees aren’t publicly named unless formally charged.

This makes the second time this year West managed to escape charges for an alleged shutterbug smackdown, having been involved in a similar melee at Los Angeles International Airport in September.

Friday’s incident purportedly went down around 2 a.m., not long after the rapper finished performing at Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena.

According to British press reports, the “Love Lockdown” singer got embroiled in a skirmish with photographer Terry Blackburn after leaving Newcastle’s Tup Tup nightclub.

Skipping over the events leading up to the encounter, Blackburn claims West, who was leaving the club with four lady friends, ran at him, pushed his camera back into his face and shouted, “Get the f–king camera off!”

Blackburn showed off the cuts and bruising he claims to have suffered in the incident, and West was arrested for his part in the incident a couple hours later, at his hotel.

West is due to perform again tonight as part of the U.K. leg of his Glow in the Dark world tour, this time in Sheffield.

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It didn’t take long for this guy to start stroking his ego again:

Kanye West is convinced his music will go down in history - hailing himself as the “voice of this generation”.

The Stronger hitmaker shot to fame producing tracks for artists including Jay-Z and Alicia Keys before launching his solo career - and he compares his achievements to that of basketball legend Michael Jordan.

He says, “I realise that my place and position in history is that I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade, I will be the loudest voice.

“It’s me settling into that position of just really accepting that it’s one thing to say you want to do it and it’s another thing to really end up being like Michael Jordan.”

And the rapper thinks his hard work puts other celebrities to shame - namely Justin Timberlake.

He adds, “There were people who had the potential to do it but they went on vacation, so when Justin went on vacation I made albums.”

Why is he comparing himself to Justin Timberlake who is a singer ? Does he really consider himself in the class of singers because he’s in love with Auto-Tune and trying to do the T Pain thing ? Sorry but this “808 And Heartbreaks” album is HOT GARBAGE. I know that it is an artistic album that he feels wasn’t made to be judged but when he put it out he opened himself up to this. SMH.

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