Kanye West was in a sharing mood with People recently, and he spoke about his relationship issues (finding girls in the club ain't easy, y'all) and, in a rare moment, opened up about his mother. Donda West died last year from complications after extensive plastic surgery. Sadly, West blames himself for what happened to her.

"I didn't do any interviews after my mom passed, I wasn't ready to speak about [it]," he said. "Now I'd rather talk it through than commit suicide. I'm super devastated… I feel like I moved to California, then my mom moved to California, and she did stuff she wouldn't have done if we'd stayed in Chicago. If I'd never made it in the music business, it never would've happened."

The rapper also has trouble with his own fame; he admits that its lonely at the top and that he's depressed.

But.

Let's not forget this is Kanye we're talking about. "Don't feel sorry for me," he said. "I just did a shoot for Louis Vuitton."

The money, which often isn't as much as one might think, that recording artists make off of their music these days is enough to make the average person very happy, but not quite enough to fund the crazy, extravagant lifestyles that they like to publicly flaunt. Hence, the ubiquitous clothing lines, colognes, footwear lines, and other branding deals. In recent days there have been a flurry of such deals, from high brow to low brow

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Search engines and travel agencies? Kanye West's marketing team members have one-track minds.

Mr. West just launched www.kanyetravel.com, which might as well be called Cheaptickets.com, Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, or Travelocity.com. According to the press release, "Kanye and his management team have partnered with travel experts to negotiate high volume discounts on air, lodging and car rental providers in order to provide their customers with the best value for their dollar. Prospective travelers will also be able to create custom travel packages through the site and will have access to artist related products such as concert tickets and related merchandise." Do they throw in some Louis Vuitton luggage with your tickets? Otherwise, I'm not seeing the big draw. [XXL]

Kanye West, with his fiancee Alexis Phifer, celebrated two of his favorite things yesterday in Los Angeles — Louis Vuitton, which inspired his nickname, and Murakami, who designed his Graduation cover art. He and a bunch of other fashion-philes attended the Louis Vuitton sponsored gala for the new Murakami exhibit. More after the jump.

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Wonders never cease! Serena Williams made her second good fashion choice of the decade at the Louis Vuitton Party of LOVE in New York City last night. And if she's ever in danger of a relapse, The Fashion Bomb has some tips to help halt her downward spiral. I think our Serena's gonna be okay!

Take a look at some other great (and questionable) fashion statements from last night's parties after the jump.

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