Mr. West is headed to Netflix.
Billboard broke the news last April that the streaming giant acquired a multipart docuseries that spans more than 20 years of the rapper’s life and career, and is reportedly set to release later this year. Featuring never-before-seen footage of West, the doc will focus on his long-running music career, his endeavors in fashion, his failed presidential run, and the death of his mother, Donda West. Sources told the outlet that Netflix shelled out $30 million for the upcoming release, but Variety reported that that price is inaccurate.
Now, five months later, Netflix has dropped a surprise teaser for the project, which is titled jeen-yuhs. The throwback clip emphasizes the wide-ranging scope of the project, showing West at the beginning of his career in 2002. As we await more details about its release, here’s everything we know about the docuseries so far.
The documentary will be a three-part event.
In a new trailer for jeen-yuhs, Netflix revealed that the upcoming Kanye West documentary will be released on February 16, 2022, and will consist of three parts. The new clip features vintage footage of many of West’s musical peers and collaborators, including Pharrell and Jay-Z, alongside archive footage of the rapper himself onstage, around the world, and in his hometown of Chicago.
jeen-yuhs is set to premiere in February 2022.
Netflix released a surprise clip (see below), which takes us all the way back to 2002, two years before his debut studio album, The College Dropout. It shows the Old Kanye in full force, as West and hip-hop legend Mos Def rap their song “Two Words” off the 2004 album.
“Filmed over two decades, jeen-yuhs 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,” Netflix said in a statement.
Former Kanye collaborators Coodie and Chike are set to direct.
Billboard reported that the then-untitled project is directed by Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah, the filmmakers behind Wests’s early music videos like “Through the Wire” and “Jesus Walks.” The duo’s past documentary work includes 2012’s Benji, based on Benjamin Wilson for ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, and 2019’s A Kid from Coney Island, about basketball player Stephon Marbury.
Considered one of the most influential—yet controversial—figures in hip-hop, West certainly won’t make a boring documentary subject, especially given his status as a celebrity firebrand, which worsened when he aligned himself with former president Donald Trump. News of the film comes weeks after West won his first Grammy Award in eight years, Best Contemporary Christian Music Album, for his 2019 LP, Jesus Is King.
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