(AP) 50 Cent said Kayne West is making the right decision by returning to the stage after his mother's sudden death.

"That's really an unfortunate situation and I hope he can work his way through it," 50 told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday. "It's good to see him actually touring: You can work your way back into a comfortable space where you can deal with those situations."

West's 58-year-old mother and manager, Donda West, died Nov. 10 after she stopped breathing at her home. She died at home after recently undergoing plastic surgery; a cause of death has yet to be determined.

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The rapper had a particularly close relationship with his mother, and dedicated a song to her on his second album; earlier this week, he broke down in tears as he attempted to sing "Hey Mama" at a concert in Europe.

50 Cent said his friend and G-Unit artist Lloyd Banks dealt with a similar situation when his father died while Banks was on tour. 50 thought Banks should put his focus on work so he wouldn't be paralyzed by grief.

"I was telling him, `You need to go back and do what you need to do,' and he thought maybe I was a little insensitive," 50 Cent said. "But I can definitely understand how that's a huge loss, and how that would be, and then (Kanye's) relationship with his mom had a lot more depth to it than a lot of people's. He was real close to his mom.

"I hope that he can work his way through it ... if you're active, you'll find reasons to smile, reasons to be happy."

50 Cent and West had a much publicized, and much-hyped sales battle a couple of months ago when West's "Graduation" and 50's "Curtis" albums were released the same day; West's CD outsold 50's handily.

Despite the trash talk he delivered before both album's were released, 50 says he has never considered West a rival.

"He's a talented artist. I actually sat with him during the creation of `Curtis' while he was creating his new album," he said. "I never viewed him as an actual enemy; what I was trying to do is build a competition."

By Nekesa Mumbi Moody
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