It’s shaping up to be a big year for Kanye West, with his long-awaited album Donda finally dropping, his split from wife Kim Kardashian and now, a documentary about the artist set to drop on Netflix.
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.
Titled Jeen-yuhs, Netflix said the project is “an intimate and revealing portrait of Kanye’s experience, showcasing both his formative days trying to break through and his life today as a global brand and artist.”
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 artist’s 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.
The streamer is reported to have paid USD $30 million for the rights to the documentary.
During its three-hour Tudum fan event, Netflix gave fans a sneak peek at Jeen-yuhs by way of a two-minute teaser which features West rapping with Yasiin Bey (previously Mos Def) in New York in 2002.
It still remains unknown whether the documentary will delve into the rapper’s mental health struggles or divorce from Kardashian. 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.
West has an estimated fortune of USD $1.8million — derived from his music, fashion and other business ventures.
Donda, his tenth studio album, was originally intended for a July 24, 2020, release but was delayed multiple times before finally dropping on August 29, 2021 to strong sales and streaming numbers. The album features appearances from Playboi Carti, Fivio Foreign, Lil Durk, Ty Dolla Sign, Young Thug, Kid Cudi, Lil Yachty, Jay-Z, Lil Baby and the Weeknd, along with controversial guests Da Baby, Marilyn Manson and Chris Brown.
Unsurprisingly, West’s track ‘Hurricane’ which references his split from Kardashian, grabbed the most attention and racked up 27.6 million streams in its first five days of release.
Check out the first look at Jeen-yuhs below.
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