“Jeen-yuhs”, the new Kanye West documentary trilogy released on January 23, tells the story of the world-renowned entrepreneur, rapper and producer, Ye. From producing beats in seventh grade, Ye made his way to topping charts on all of his albums. However, he took a long journey to make it to the top.

In the first episode, “Vision”, one of Kanye’s close friends, Coodie, took viewers on a journey through Ye’s early years by means of his personal camera. At the beginning of the first episode, Coodie tells viewers that Ye began as a producer, creating beats for popular artists from Chicago to New York. Ye made multiple attempts to sign a record deal with Roc-a-Fella Records, but he needed a larger platform to reach this goal. Within this episode, Coodie features Ye’s late mother, Donda West. Donda always inspired Ye and adding her into the documentary greatly contributed to Ye’s life story.

In the second part of the trilogy, “Purpose”, Coodie talks about Ye’s signing to one of the most popular records at the time, Roc-a-Fella Records. Although Ye finally signed, he still felt left out of the Roc-a-Fella inner circle. He felt that he needed to prove himself to everyone who still doubted his abilities as a rapper, rather than a producer. Coodie talks about Ye’s lethal car crash that broke his jaw in three places. Ye then called Coodie and introduced one of his lead singles in 2003, “Through the Wire”, which gained its popularity because Ye rapped it with his mouth wired shut. Mentioning this part of Ye’s life allowed viewers to see the obstacles he went through during his rapping career. After showing his work to popular artists such as Ludacris, Scarface, and Pharrell Williams, Ye definitely proved his worth. Regardless, Roc-a-Fella Records still swept Ye’s music under the rug and thought of him only as a producer. Ye persevered and created his three-time Grammy-winning album, “College Dropout”. Overall this part of the trilogy explained Ye finding purpose within himself and in the music industry. 

In “Awakening”, the third and final part of the trilogy, Coodie shows how Ye became an A-list celebrity. From winning Grammys to starting foundations, Ye truly achieved his dreams. However, the death of his mother turned his life around.  Ye began pushing the people he loved most to the side and making rash decisions. Coodie refers to Ye’s outbursts at his shows and his irrational tweets as well. However, he also mentions Ye’s reconnection with Jesus Christ and his “Jesus is King” album in 2019. Each aspect of the last episode of the “Jeen-Yuhs” trilogy perfectly encapsulates Ye’s ups, downs, and eventful journey from a lesser known producer to a billionaire and musical genius.

Without this trilogy, people would not fully understand Ye’s life and all of the obstacles he faced. Although he still faces backlash over his posts and reckless lifestyle, this trilogy explains everything he went through to reach stardom. Jeen-yuhs impeccably pieces together Ye’s life, especially because of the first-hand interactions between himself and those who interacted with him. 

The Chant’s Rating: A-