KANYE WEST - WEST SPRAINS ANKLE IN AUSTRALIA

Rapper KANYE WEST was forced to halt a concert in Australia on Sunday night (26MAR06) after he twisted his ankle. The GOLD DIGGER hitmaker hurt his ankle early in his first set and was forced to take a break to have it tended to. The rapper received an enthusiastic reception from the crowd at his sold-out gig at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion, who remained patient while he received medical attention. West was scheduled to support U2 on their VERTIGO tour of the Antipodes, but after the Irish supergroup postponed their Australian dates due to a family emergency, West decided to proceed with the shows on his own. In between his sold-out performances promoting TOUCH THE SKY, West has been busy in local recording studios working on a new album with fellow rapper, COMMON. The HEARD 'EM SAY singer spent most of his downtime in Melbourne, Australia last week (ends24MAR06) at Sing Sing studios and is believed to have two more studios on hold in Sydney to continue recording.