Is Kanye West going back to his hometown for good?
While addressing a crowd at OpenMike, an event for Chicago high schoolers hosted by Chance the Rapper, the Yeezy mastermind said that he planned to return to make a permanent return to the Windy City.
“I’ve got to let you all know, that I’m moving back to Chicago,” he says in a video obtained by TMZ, “and I’m never leaving again.” The audience then erupts into a spontaneous cheer of “Kanye! Kanye! Kanye! Kanye!”
West also hinted at new music on the way — both his own and collaborations with others. “Me and Chance workin’ on a new album,” he announces to screams in a clip posted to Instagram by Chance the Rapper. “It’s called Good Ass Job.” And early Friday, West shared a text message screenshot of a recordable disc drive titled Yandhi and dated 9/29/18.
A post shared by Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) on Sep 17, 2018 at 6:05pm PDT
A post shared by Kanye West (@kanyewest) on Sep 17, 2018 at 8:44pm PDT
A rep for West did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Sources tell TMZ that West has already found a new house in Chicago, but he also intends to keep the current home in Calabasas, California that he shares with Kim Kardashian West and their children North, 5, Saint, 2½, and — yes— Chicago, 9 months.
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West has had Chicago on the brain recently. Last week, the 41-year-old rapper sent out a series of tweets about his hometown, including a claim that, “I will teach a course at the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academy of Art.”
However, the Art Institute of Chicago has since denied that.
“We’re flattered that Mr. West would have an interest in teaching emerging artists and designers at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. However, Mr. West is not currently teaching at SAIC, and at this time, there are no plans for him to do so,” Bree Witt, the school’s public relations director, told The Chicago Tribune.
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Meanwhile, West has history at the American Academy of Art. He briefly attended the American Academy of Art and Chicago State University in 1997 — where his mother also served as a professor — before dropping out to pursue music at age 20. Though his career took the place of his education, West was awarded an honorary doctorate by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in March 2015 for his contributions to music, fashion, and popular culture, officially making him an honorary DFA.
On Friday, the rapper shared a number of Instagram clips of himself lecturing a group, though the location was not disclosed.
I will teach a course at the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academy of Art
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) September 10, 2018
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We’re doing Chicago Comedy Jam. We’re going to restore the Regal Theatre
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) September 10, 2018
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We’re putting a Yeezy office in Chicago
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) September 10, 2018
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A post shared by Kanye West (@kanyewest) on Sep 14, 2018 at 12:47pm PDT
A post shared by Kanye West (@kanyewest) on Sep 14, 2018 at 12:49pm PDT
A post shared by Kanye West (@kanyewest) on Sep 14, 2018 at 12:52pm PDT
A post shared by Kanye West (@kanyewest) on Sep 14, 2018 at 1:02pm PDT
He may not be starting a class anytime soon, but the father of three claims he will be opening a Yeezy office in the Windy City.
West also promises that he would be helping to restore the shuttered Avalon Regal Theatre in the South Shore neighborhood, which he called the “Regal Theatre,” and that he would “do” the Chicago Comedy Jam (which runs from Oct. 5-6 at the Arie Crown Theatre).
All of this appeared to be motivated by a visit by to Theaster Gates’ Stony Island Arts Bank that West made earlier this month.
“It is super inspiring I’d even say it is overwhelming which is my favorite description,” West wrote. “We need to be overwhelmed with love and inspiration.”
We visited theaster gates stony island art bank last week
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) September 10, 2018
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it is super inspiring I’d even say it is overwhelming which is my favorite description
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) September 10, 2018
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we need to be overwhelmed with love and inspiration
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) September 10, 2018
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West’s love for his hometown extends beyond last week’s tweet storm, obviously. Despite being born in Atlanta, Georgia, Kanye has long shared that growing up in the city — where he moved with his mother after his parents divorced — deeply influenced his life.
It’s also where West began his career, first as a producer, and then as a member of a late-’90s Chicago rap group called the Go-Getters.
West eventually broke through as a solo artist with his debut album The College Dropout in 2004. But it was on his 2007 hit “Homecoming,” off his third studio album Graduation that he decided to voice his appreciation for his hometown city, rhyming about his love for Chi-Town and his guilt over leaving “her” to pursue his musical dreams.
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Since then, West has devoted much of his activism to helping the city, speaking out about the city’s gun violence and even forming a non-profit called Donda’s House in 2013 to provide “unprecedented access and education from leading experts in the music, fashion, and entertainment industry to Chicago’s creative youth and young adults.”