An early live performance of " Hey Mama " took place in West 's hometown of Chicago at the conclusion of a concert with Dilated Peoples held in the House of Blues on May 5 , 2004 . West included " Hey Mama " within the setlist of his '' Touch the Sky Tour '' that occurred in late 2005 . On November 17 , 2007 at Le Zenith in Paris , France , during his first public performance since his mother 's death a week before , West broke down into tears while attempting to perform the song . After his mother 's death , West would perform a live rendition of the song as a tribute to her , most notably during all of his concerts on his Glow in the Dark tour that ran from 2007 to 2008 in promotion for his third studio album '' Graduation '' ( 2007 ) . In the concert , West followed the performance up by dedicating a cover of Journey 's " Do n't Stop Believin ' to her . He performed " Hey Mama " as a tribute at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards for his mother in a black jacket . West ended his set at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival by performing the song . On the opening show of The Yeezus Tour at the KeyArena in Seattle , the song was performed live by West
50th Annual Grammy Awards
50th Annual Grammy Awards
Hey Mama (Kanye West song)