This is what we are picturing. (Photo: Morsipr.blogspot.com)

Fresh off blowing up Mitt Romney's tax scheme spot on the opening track of Cruel Summer, Kanye West must have decided it was safe to take his eye off the throne for a minute. We hear the rapper dropped by General Assembly's East campus at 902 Broadway today to meet with a startup. "He was just there. He was in the classroom," an entrepreneur stationed in the coworking space told Betabeat. "He didn't have many people with him and was just in the front. I think he was in the classroom most of the morning."

We first noticed the sighting via a tweet from Matthew Witheiler, principal at Flybridge Capital Partners. Alex Taub, head of biz dev at Dwolla, also tweeted about the surprise guest--and his stylish wardrobe choice. Another venture capitalist, Nikhil Kalghatgi at Softbank Ventures, used the social network to express his disbelief. Meanwhile, student developer Chevon Christie was bummed to have missed the whole thing.

Crazy world. @kanyewest currently meeting with a company at @ga.

— Matthew Witheiler (@witheiler) September 13, 2012

Okay... @kanyewest is at @ga . Was just listening to Watch The Throne one minute ago. Also- nice pants! — Alexander Taub (@ajt) September 13, 2012

@nikhilkal @kanyewest @ga black and red pants. They were really nice. I sort of want to know where they are from... — Alexander Taub (@ajt) September 13, 2012

Apparently, kanye came by my workplace, @ga, today.. #HowDidIMissThat?

— Chevon Christie (@ChevonChr) September 13, 2012

Last summer, Mr. West (along with Lady Gaga) was rumored to have invested in the music startup Turntable.fm. Unlike Elevation Partners cofounder "Bono Rockstar," Mr. West does not yet have a Crunchbase profile and the deal, as far as we know, is unconfirmed. However, he's no stranger to Silicon Alley. Mr. West was recently seen advising Joseph Einhorn, founder of The Fancy. At the time, a company rep told Betabeat, “He gave some advice to our CEO Joe Einhorn, who looks up to Kanye the way most tech folks idolize Steve Jobs." Earlier this year, Mr. West disclosed plans for "a new collective of creatives and developers" called DONDA. The startup, he said, will have 22 divisions aligned under the goal of making "products and experiences that people want and can afford."

As for today's classroom session at GA, it's unclear whether Mr. West was teaching, learning or recruiting. If you know the identity of the mystery startup, holler at your girls: tips@betabeat.com.

(buzzword101.com)

We all got punked.

WhoDat.biz, the silly site claiming to be Kanye West's newest startup, is not in fact affiliated with the rapper. Everyone from The Washington Post to Ars Technica to BuzzFeed to our very own Betabeat got swept up in the WhoDat madness--which is probably exactly what the unknown architects behind WhoDat wanted.

When the Internet finally caught its breath from laughing so hard, we all did a little sleuthing. Buzzfeed cites a tweet from "a guy who works with Kanye" as saying, "If a site existed it'd be obvious that it was real." Fair enough.

The email address listed for WhoDat.biz (dondamedia at gmail dot com) is also different from the one Kanye originally tweeted as Donda's address (contact donda at gmail dot com).

We emailed the address listed as belonging to Whodat.biz asking if they were fake, and they responded "im real. a/s/l?" Nothing like a little '90s instant messenger slang to legitimize your identity.

The Tumblr that claims to be affiliated with Donda also only began posting yesterday, leaving just enough time to build a small archive of posts before going public today.

Betabeat reached out to Mr. West's manager, but he no longer works with the star. Mr. West's marketing and music managers also couldn't be reached for comment.

UPDATE: The whole hoax was orchestrated by OKFocus, a New York digital agency. Read about it here.

I get computers puting.

After a long sabattical from his Twitter account, Kanye West returned to the internet last night with a flurry of thoughts in 140 characters or less. The big news, he is forming a new company, DONDA. It's not entirely clear what the mission of the company is, but it seems like the tech set can get involved: 

I am assembling a team of architects, graphic designers, directors musicians, producers, AnRs, writers, publicist, social media experts, app guys, managers, car designers, clothing designers, DJs, video game designers, publishers, tech guys, lawyers, bankers, nutritionist, doctors, scientist,teachers. DONDA will be comprised of over 22 divisions with a goal to make products and experiences that people want and can afford. I want to put creatives in a room together with like minds that are all waaaay doper than me. We want to help simplify and aesthetically improve everything we see hear, touch, taste and feel... To dream of, create, advertise and produce products driven equally by emotional want and utilitarian need.. To marry our wants and needs.

Sounds like somebody enjoyed the Steve Jobs biography. And hey, Dr. Dre is making a killing on his high end headphones.

App guys (mobile developers) and tech guys (programmers) can apply at  - contactDONDA@gmail.com

UPDATE: Everyone is getting in on this tech thing. Mayor Bloomberg is apparently learning to code. Wait...didn't he build a big tech company already?

should have plenty of free time on his hands soon

via Village Voice

P.S. You can get a taste for what Kanye is working on from this picture he sent out during his DONDA pitch last night. Living room of the future!

swimming in screens