Kanye West fans received a nostalgic gift this weekend in the form of a first-look clip from Netflix’s long-awaited documentary on Ye, “JEEN-YUHS.” The three-part series, which will feature never-before-seen footage and home videos from West’s life, has been over 20 years in the making.
Chronicling Kanye West
Netflix first announced a Kanye documentary in April 2021, in collaboration with TIME Studios. Most of the footage comes from veteran West videographers Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah. Though West is reportedly not creatively involved with the project, Simmons and Ozah have maintained a window into the rapper’s life for years. The duo has documented West over decades of his career. In fact, the pair directed two of his earliest videos, “Through The Wire” and “Jesus Walks.” Netflix reportedly acquired their footage in a thirty-million-dollar deal.
Young and Hungry
The first-look clip, recorded in New York in 2002, features Kanye West and hip-hop icon Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def. The pair nonchalantly rap their then-unreleased collaboration “Two Words” together while members of their crew vibe along. Kanye spits his verse with the youth and hunger that defined his early work and rise to fame. The clip will certainly evoke nostalgia for viewers, especially fans of Yeezy’s The College Dropout days. Above all, the clip builds hype, hinting at the hours of intimate, raw footage that could indeed be where this came from.
On top of chronicling West’s early years of rapping, the documentary will reportedly follow Ye’s failed 2020 presidential run and the death of his mother, Donda West. At the end of August, West released the long-awaited tribute album Donda to much industry fanfare. It remains unknown whether the documentary will discuss West’s recent divorce from Kim Kardashian. Currently, Netflix has “JEEN-YUHS” slated for a release sometime in 2022.
What do you think of this first clip from “JEEN-YUHS?” Let us know by interacting with us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
Written by Hattie Lindert: Twitter