Kanye West often spoke about his close relationship with his mother

Dr Donda West, who managed the star's businesses and educational foundation and was the subject of his song Hey Mama, died in Los Angeles on Saturday.

She was taken to hospital after she had stopped breathing at her home, and she could not be resuscitated.

West's spokesman said "the family respectfully asks for privacy during this time of grief".

The 30-year-old often spoke publicly of his close relationship with his mother. She raised him alone after her husband left when West was three.

In Hey Mama, on West's 2005 album Late Registration, he sang: "Hey Mama, I wanna scream so loud for you, cuz I'm so proud of you. I appreciate what you allowed for me, I just want you to be proud of me."

In May, Donda West published the book Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Star, in which she paid homage to her famous son.

She was chairwoman of the Kanye West Foundation, a non-profit organisation that aims to improve literacy and stop young people dropping out of school.