Kanye West has long been a source of fascination and, frequently, befuddlement which makes the rapper the perfect subject for a documentary.
That documentary is now forthcoming — with an expected release date of late 2021 — as Netflix has acquired a multi-part project about West for around US $30million or approximately 8,800 pairs of Yeezy Boost 350 trainers for those of you playing at home.
The doc will feature never-before-seen archival footage of the intriguing artist and contains over two decades of material for fans to enjoy. The project comes from Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah, aka Coodie and Chike who co-directed Kanye’s 2003 Through the Wire video and the third version of Jesus Walks.
As reported by Billboard, Simmons has a long history with West and has been filming him since the late 90s in Chicago. It will be the relationship between Simmons and West that will drive the series as it explores the artists early rise to success, the devastating 2007 death of his mother Donda, his transition to fashion icon and his controversial — and short-lived — 2020 presidential run.
As yet, it is unclear as to whether the documentary will touch on West’s extremely public marriage to and separation from Kim Kardashian or his ongoing battles with mental health.
The entrepreneur has been open about his bipolar disorder diagnosis and suicidal ideations so the documentary could be a great opportunity to further dismantle the stigma around men’s mental health.
Of course, even without delving into West’s more personal anecdotes, there is plenty of material to mine given the rappers meteoric success. Widely considered one of the most critically acclaimed artists of the 21st century, the Flashing Lights singer has won 22 Grammy Awards and is one of the world’s best-selling music artists, with more than 20 million albums and 140 million singles sold worldwide.
The rapper has an estimated fortune of USD $1.8million — derived from his music, fashion and other business ventures.
The project is so far untitled and, as previously mentioned, will hopefully be available to stream on Netflix later in the year however, if you’re in the market for a good music documentary to tide you over in the meantime check out our article on Music Docos to Watch After Stan’s Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine.
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.