Inside Donda's House: Kanye West's Childhood Home In Chicago

Kanye West continues to work on his upcoming album “Donda,” a tribute to his late mother and, possibly, his childhood home in Chicago, Illinois.

Last week, the 44-year-old rapper deleted all the images he had on his Instagram page related to his highly anticipated album and left only one — a photo of the home where he was raised by his mother, Donda West. The former professor and chair of the English and Speech Department at Chicago State University had died in 2007 at the age of 58 due to pre-existing coronary artery disease, the New York Post reported.

West is reportedly rebuilding his childhood home in the middle of Chicago’s Soldier Field, where he will play his 10th studio album Thursday, based on photos snapped from inside the stadium.

West spent about eight years of his childhood in the 1,600-square-foot home, according to his mother’s 2007 memoir, “Raising Kanye: Life Lessons From the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar.” Property records showed that they sold the house for $121,000 in 2003.

The home, initially built in 1905, is situated on a 7,000-square-foot lot in the South Shore neighborhood. In photos obtained by the New York Post, the front yard of the property was surrounded by wild shrubs and greenery that had been left unmaintained.

The interior of the house features three bedrooms, one bathroom, a dining area and a living room. The back of the home also has a yard with a shed.

Less than a year before West released his debut studio album “The College Dropout” in 2004, his mother sold their Chicago home. Donda said in her memoir that she decided to move after her son had a run-in with some boys at Rainbow Beach Park who slashed the tires of his bike when he refused to give it up.

In 2013, the rapper launched Donda’s House, a non-profit youth arts organization, with fellow hip-hop artist Rhymefest. West’s organization was able to purchase his childhood home in 2016 with plans to turn it into a community arts incubator.

However, Donda’s House said in 2017 that the house had to be demolished because it had “significant structural damage,” the Chicago Tribune reported. The property had gone through foreclosure years prior.

In 2019, 16 years after his mom sold it, West bought back the home for $225,000 with plans to renovate it under his LLC, Donda Services.

West’s childhood home was featured in a 2018 episode of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” Currently, the property has an estimated value of $246,900, according to Realtor.