In the new Netflix docuseries ”Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy,” a filmmaker named Clarence `Coodie” Simmons interviewed iconic rapper Kanye West when he was just a producer and no one really knew him. Coodie saw the talent in Kayne immediately. Inspired by the movie “Hoop Dreams,” Coodie had an idea to make a documentary on Kayne to see how far his dreams would take him, but shortly after Kanye moved to New York for better opportunities. After a year had passed, Coodie heard Jay-Z perform a song to a beat that Kanye previously played for him.This gave Coodie the motivation to take a leap of faith. He moved to New York to document every day of Kanye’s life until he accomplished his dream of being a rapper…….
Act I: Vision
In this episode, we get to see Kanye’s journey and the struggle he experienced to reach his dream, a place Kanye always knew he would be. Kanye at this time was well known for his beats and many believed he should just accept that and stay that way, but Kanye had a bigger dream. Kanye wanted to be a rapper. Kanye shared with Coodie that the only reason he even made beats was to rap on them, but his road to success was not easy and we get to see a lot of that in this episode. People did not believe that a producer could be a successful rapper. The documentary shows Kanye playing some of what are the greatest hits of his career for people and getting brushed off or receiving lackluster reaction. Only Kanye could truly see his vision. Four different record companies passed on Kanye. Kanye knew he had to get recognition from somewhere, he knew he needed to get his name out there. Kanye eventually landed a “You Heard It First” MTV interview. After that he got signed to Roc-a-Fella records, but his journey was long from over. This episode left me wanting more. I wanted to know how Kanye got to where he is now. It made me appreciate his journey so much more. It gave me inspiration for my own.
Act II: Purpose
This episode highlights what hard work and believing in yourself can do for you. In this episode, we get a chance to see Kanye’s dedication to his dream. We also see his relationship with his mother, Ms. Donda, and the important role she played in his life. Kanye gets into a bad car accident towards the beginning of the episode. He almost died and was in the hospital for seven days. This caused the label to stall his projects and it becomes obvious he’s no longer a priority. He was not given a budget for studio time, nor music video money , nor did the label put any effort into his music. Nevertheless, Kanye perseveres. Kanye uses other artists’ studio time, gets his own MTV interviews, and finds ways to get on stages at shows and perform snippets of his songs. Kanye knew he needed to get Roc-a-Fella’s attention, so he decided to take some of the footage Coodie had been recording to make a music video, eventually costing Kanye more than $30,000. He gets a music video premiere and the recognition he needs. After that, his album budget was open. This album goes on to win many awards, including a Grammy. The best part of this episode was seeing his relationship with Ms. Donda. She was always a supportive mother. In this episode she’s there for almost all his accomplishments and keeps a proud smile on her face. This episode was even more inspiring than the last. It showed me that if you work hard enough and keep trying even when you get knocked down, your dreams are yours!
Act III: Awakening
In this episode we see Kanye take a step into his new life leaving a lot behind. Kanye leaves Coodie out of his new life and Coodie begins watching him from afar, just like us. In this episode there’s a scene where Coodie does interview Kanye at one of his celebrations but realizes he’s no longer a part of Kanye’s life. Coodie has a daughter soon after and makes a decision to focus on her and his family instead. Coodie sees Kanye a few times due to being invited places by friends but it’s never the same. They barely speak and according to Coodie, he seemed like a different person. Coodie even states, “I’ve met Kanye but I’ve never met Yeezy ” which is Kanye’s nickname. It took them years to reconnect but after they did, we get a glimpse of what Kanye’s life is like now. This episode really didn’t consist of much, seeing as Coodie really didn’t get a chance to record Kanye, but this episode showed a lot of Kanye’s public controversial moments and a small glimpse into what his mindset was behind it.
My Verdict
In all, I found this series to be very inspiring. It inspired me to see Kanye have a goal and accomplish it. He never gave up and made sacrifices to be where he wanted to be. Kanye has caused much controversy over the past few years but seeing what he had to do to get where he is now in real time, was a great experience. I really do believe anyone who has a dream for their life should watch at least the first two episodes. This series was really jeen-yuhs!
