Kanye West Benefit Show

Superstar rapper Kanye West has been confirmed as the headliner of a new concert in his hometown of Chicago.

Titled 'Stay In School' the new concert aims to encourage teens to stay in school until graduation. In the United States many children from less well off families drop out of High School with very little qualifications, limiting their options for future careers.

Drop out rates are particularly high in Chicago, the tough Northern city where Kanye West grew up. Coincidentally, this is also the town where Barack Obama cut his political teeth, working with benefit groups on the impoverished South Side.

Kanye West is set to perform at the second annual event in honour of his mother Dr Donda West who died in 2007, after undergoing a procedure for plastic surgery. The surgeon from that operation is currently the subject of a court case, with questions being raised over his background and expertise.

The idea for the concert came from a Chicago teenager who approached the rapper. Kanye West was so taken with the event that he decided his Kanye West Foundation (KWF) would be the sponsor for 'Stay In School'.

“I have always had the desire to help people and make the world a better place,” Kanye West told American magazine AllHiphop.

KWF chief Joseph Collins explained that “I believe that youth are the music for creating a world filled with harmony. To create such a world, however, we must all do our part. This cause is directly in line with the mission of the KWF."

“We see this event as a launching pad and long-term effort to help students in school. The fact that a young person chose to lead this effort and challenge his peers to do better in school is amazing and exactly what Dr. West envisioned when she and Kanye created this foundation" continued Collins.

"I believe these efforts directly support the vision Dr. West had for the organization and for America’s children. I see this concert as the seed that will allow us to ‘fulfill a mother’s dream.’”

Kanye West will play 'Stay In School' on July 11th.