No sooner had laser-hot Kanye West finished rapping about a character "addicted to retail" at a party to celebrate his Source magazine cover the other night, then a rep from American Express handed him an Amex Black Card.

That's not gonna help the 26-year-old West's shop-aholism.

The platinum-selling West, whose "College Dropout" CD is on Billboard's Top 10, was shocked to receive the plastic pass to unlimited spending.

A person has to spend at least $150,000 a year for Amex to invite you to join the exclusive club - which is said to include Sean Combs, Russell Simmons, Denzel Washington and Damon Dash.

Lil' Kim wears a diamond-encrusted one around her neck.

In fact, though a company spokeswoman says there is great diversity among the few thousand "CEOs, athletes, artists and entrepreneurs" (including pitchman Jerry Seinfeld) who carry the slice of superaffluence, hip-hop stars have so taken to the card that West calls it the "African-American Express Card."

"It's a sign you've arrived," the Amex spokeswoman said.

West - who's also produced cuts for Janet Jackson and Alicia Keys - wears only Ralph Lauren Purple Label, boasts numerous Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton cases. But he's is at least more socially conscious than earlier rappers for whom acquiring bling was the be-all and end-all.

An activist with Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network whose mother is a Ph.D., West says, "I'm a cat with a Benz and a backpack."

Source: http://www.hitoppro.com