It was the house where Kanye West grew up and was supposed to become the headquarters of a charity he co-founded to help Chicago’s troubled youth.
But the modest property on the city’s south side has been left to rot since a feud between Kanye and childhood friend Rhymefest saw the charity cut ties with him.
Now, it is littered with hart-shaped post-its, old CDs and beer bottles that have lain there since a fundraiser back in February.
Kanye West’s childhood home has been left abandoned on Chicago’s south side after a failed attempt to turn it into a charity headquarters in memory of his late mother
The home is still covered in heart-shaped post-it notes from a fundraiser held at the property in February, shortly before the charity cut ties with West
The house has begun falling apart with a window from missing at the front (left) while the trash cans are still filled with spare wood and beer bottles from the fundraiser
A door at the back of the property has been smashed in, leaving it open to squatters and allowing the weather inside
A door at the back of the property has been broken, allowing squatters to access it, while a window frame has fallen away at the front, giving another access point.
Inside the home is completely empty aside from a fridge in the main room, while paint can be seen peeling from the ceiling.
It is a far cry from the original plans for the property, which was supposed to contain a recording studio and a museum to Donda West, Kanye’s mother.
The plans began in 2011 when Kanye founded charity Donda’s House with longtime friend and collaborator Rhymefest, in honor of his mother who died in 2007 from complications of cosmetic surgery.
Paint has also begun peeling from the outside and inside of the property, which is a far cry from plans to turn it into a museum and record studio
The bins outside are still filled with trash, five months after a fundraising event was held here
CDs were also tied to the front fence of the property during the event, and are still there
Dozens of people gathered to raise money for Donda’s House, the charity Kanye co-founded in 2011 to help support Chicago’s youth with music training
Before she died, West was in the process of setting up an organization called Loop Dreams, which planning to install recording studios in high schools.
Rhymefest, who was mentored by Donda West during her time as a teacher, says the charity has since gone on to help more than 500 Chicago youths.
But in May this year Rhymefest and Kanye fell out amid accusations that the multi-millionaire rapper had provided little assistance to the charity and ‘abandoned’ his hometown.
While Kanye did not publicly respond to the claims, wife Kim Kardashian came riding to his defense and accused Rhymefest of failing to run the organization properly.
Days later, amid controversy over Kanye suggesting that slavery had been ‘a choice’ and his public backing for Donald Trump, Donda’s House cut ties with him.
The charity announced via Twitter that it was permanently changing its name to Art of Culture Inc, and continues to operate under that name to this day.
Meanwhile all of Donda’s House social media channels and websites were reportedly handed over to Kim and Kanye, and have remained inactive since.
Rhymefest (left) a childhood friend and collaborator with Kanye was charged with running the charity, but in May accused the rapper of failing to support it
After Rhymefest hit out at Kanye, wife Kim Kardashian clapped back, accusing him of failing to run the organization properly
Donda’s House cut ties with Kanye a short time later, renaming itself Art of Culture Inc amid the rapper’s controversial comments on slavery being a choice and his support for Trump