[Tim Kash has posted his review of Kanye West's concert at London's O2 Arena on MTV's You R Here blog. Follow the link below for the full review and Tim's BlackBerry snaps of Kanye performing.]

Earlier this week I was having breakfast at one of my favourite greasy-spoon cafes (pronounced caff) in London, when I got a call from an old friend of mine Don, the esteemed manager of one of the greatest musical minds of this generation — Kanye West. It's been a really tough time for Kanye, having recently lost his mother, Donda — a fantastic woman who I'm proud to have known. The tragic news hit Kanye whilst he was on his world tour, and understandably it tore his world apart.

After a period of mourning and her funeral in Chicago — an event that saw the whole community come out — Kanye made the decision to continue with his tour as his mother "would have wanted." Don told me that they had just arrived to London and that the next night he was taking to the stage in front of a sell-out 20,000-strong crowd at the O2 Arena (formerly known as the Millennium Dome) in South East London. I rarely miss a Kanye performance if we're in the same town, and although part of me would like him to take a rest at this time, I respect his decision, which stands as a testament to his character and relentless dedication to his fans.

Read the rest of this entry at yourhere.mtv.com »

I eventually left Dubai, and believe me, I didn't want to. After what could only be described as a whirlwind 48 hours in Dubai, I opened the door to the villa terrace on Saturday morning and looked out at the view for the first time. Even though Dubai is a city that's in a constant state of "nearly done," set in the middle of a desert with more new construction, scaffolding and cranes than anywhere else I've seen, Dubai boasts some exquisite (albeit artificial) beaches, complete with everything you would come to expect from a picture-perfect resort. I was sold. Almost immediately, my mindset changed from leaving Dubai to deciding what cocktail I was going to have by the beach. I knew I could spare a day so I jumped on the phone, woke up a couple of people and pushed my flight back to the evening. The rest of the day, if I'm honest, was spent half-asleep by the beach, music playing and cocktail in hand.

It was Thanksgiving last week — my first Thanksgiving ever. From what I understand, Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends, so I decided to spend a quick couple of days in London and Paris — strictly business, of course — before returning home to NY. Even though NY has started to feel like a home away from home, you've got to love London. I'm always excited to return to London. Anyone who lives abroad and gets to return home every now and then for a small holiday will understand. It's a beautiful thing.

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These last few days have gone by so quickly. I think this is the first time I've had a chance just to sit down and take it all in.

The launch went incredibly well by all accounts. The show opened with an energetic performance from Dubai rap group Desert Heat, who were a last-minute addition to the show after their impromptu post-sound-check performance the night before impressed everyone in the room. Seeing two seasoned rappers spitting hard in Arabic while dressed in the full-on traditional robes wasn't something I'd ever seen before in my life, but it was definitely something I'd like to see again and the perfect way to start the show. Read more...

It's 7:30 Tuesday morning, and I've been out all night. Haven't slept yet, and it's beginning to catch up. I should know better, but what can I say? I love Monday night in New York. For me, it's the first night of the working week ahead, and the one night when I really should be home in bed and asleep by 1 a.m. at the latest. But like I said, I love New York (the city, not Flava Flav's ex, just to be clear!), and when the city calls, who am I to say no?

After dinner downtown, the atmosphere was electric last night, and some of the city's best-known faces came out to play. When it came time to leave, let's just say I had a little party still left in me, so we jumped into some cars and went straight to my favorite after-hours spot in Soho. The party was already in full swing when we got there, and even though it was already around 3 a.m., it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon. Does no one in New York have work on Tuesdays? I guess not. Anyway, I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say we had fun!
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First, I wanted to say thanks to all of you for your comments on the interview with LL. I appreciate it. Like I said, that was just a snippet of the conversation, and I'll have the best bits of the interview coming soon.

Second, I thought you guys might like to see this as well. A couple of days after I sat down for that interview with LL, I went over to Chung King Studios to pay him a visit, where LL kindly agreed to preview us some of his brand new material for the first time ever. The shoot went great and the tracks were hot! We sat down for about an hour as LL played us some of the album track-by-track and broke down the story behind the music.

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At the end of last week I got a phone call from LL Cool J and his manager, the lovely Claudine, telling me that he was spending his Friday night down at New York's legendary Chung King Studios laying down the final touches to his latest album, Exit 13 — and would I like to come down with a camera crew for an exclusive first listen?

We jumped at the chance — after all, this was an opportunity to witness history in the making.

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