Pitchfork

Kanye West returned to the blogosphere January 2 with his first post since the death of his mother, Dr. Donda West, in November. It's a fun post full of details about pal-ing around with his famous friends, the specs of Jay-Z's new 40/40 club in Vegas, and epic sessions of... Connect Four... against Beyoncé!

Kanye is apparently an avid Connect Four player, and he chronicles his road to grand champion Beyoncé in the post, which we've reprinted below in its unedited entirety:

"THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT

When I was in Europe I would play this game for hours and hours... it helped me zone out. Everybody would get envolved... Derrick Dudley (Common's manager) and Consequence were the best other than me... I beat Lexi... Don C beat Jay... Tony Williams beat Common... but every now and then people would speak of this legendary connect 4 champion........... BEYONCE!!! I had 2 play her!...so last night at Jay's new 40/40 club in Las Vegas (which is sidebar, crazy big w/ 24krt gold flooring, Black Jack tables, $500 slot machines,the biggest projection screen in the universe and the best turkey burgers I've ever had in my life) she beat me 9 times in a row! (and I didn't even spaz lol) here's a photo of the only game I won!"

Kanye's winning photo is the one above, and below the jump are two more pics from the battle, with both superstars deep in strategic thought. Also after the jump are Kanye's remaining live dates, which all take place at the previously reported Good Vibrations Festival.

In other Kanye news, that book of his should ship soon, and the reissue of Thriller that comes with his remix of "Billie Jean" hits stores February 11.

Connect the dates:

02-09 Melbourne, Australia - Sidney Myer Music Bowl (Good Vibrations Festival)
02-16 Sydney, Australia - Centennial Park (Good Vibrations Festival)
02-17 Perth, Australia - Heirisson Island (Good Vibrations Festival)