Kanye West burns the midnight oil between tour dates

The managers of Sacramento recording studio The Hangar, where albums by many a freak-folker have been made (Devendra Banhart, Vetiver, and Bright Black Morning Light, among others), were surprised to get a call last week from Kanye West’s camp looking to book some time in the hippie- and skater-friendly space. The chart-topping rapper had just finished the second date of his Glow in the Dark tour at nearby ARCO Arena, but needed to work on a track for Young Jeezy’s upcoming album which, EW.com has learned, is scheduled for release in July. “We thought it was a joke at first,” says studio owner John Baccigaluppi, who’s also the publisher of respected indie recording magazine Tape Op. “It was certainly an unusual booking for us, but they seemed to dig the studio and all the skate ramps.” West hunkered down for two overnight sessions before heading south to San Jose, San Diego, and then Los Angeles, where his Nokia Theater performance drew several famous fans, including Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie, and Jamie Foxx.