jeen-yuhs review: Remarkable Netflix doc shines new light on polarising star

Act 1, titled “VISION” explains how Coodie (Clarence Simmons) in particular came to have mind-blowing access to Kanye, and his story in itself is quite special. Coodie, an up-and-coming comedian in Chicago swapped the stage for the camera as he bagged a role on a local hip-hop channel where he first interviewed rappers on the scene, but found a new creative vision when he met Kanye in 1998 and decided to document his story.

Kanye, for his part, was becoming one of the most talked-about producers in the game – but a rapper he was not, despite his best efforts. Ye’s talents took him to New York, where he teamed up with Jay Z, Dash and Biggs’ label Roc-A-Fella. Coodie felt so compelled by Ye’s talent from what he saw in Chicago he gave up his life in the Windy City and went to the Big Apple to document Ye’s rise.

What was essentially a punt from Coodie turned out to be one of the best instincts anyone’s ever had – Kanye of course became a star, whether people wanted him to or not. And jeen-yuhs follows the struggles the 20-something producer had to get people to take him seriously.

Any Kanye fan knows the story. He was essentially laughed at by those in Roc-A-Fella, who saw him as having too easy a life to be a successful rapper in New York, but always considered him a talented producer. What the story has never captured in detail until now is the passion and drive behind the man – and the struggles he's faced every step of the way.

jeen-yuhs is unashamedly unfiltered. While Kanye chooses to portray and control his public image in 2022, this Netflix documentary shows the real man behind the persona. And that is quite simply astonishing to a fan. jeen-yuhs shows aspects of the story we only heard – we see Ye try so desperately hard to get anyone to listen to his now seminal record All Falls Down in Roc-A-Fella only to leave the office downbeat and disheartened.

It’s devastating. While some call Kanye arrogant, and even a narcissist, Coodie captures the hardworking and desperate talent just trying to catch a break – he captures the real Kanye. All the way through, Ye knows he’s a star, and it’s this drive and determination that turned him into the household name he is now. Quite rightly, once you’ve seen what he went through.

This is really the power of jeen-yuhs. In the first Act, at least, Kanye's stage persona we know today is really at the background. The young man is like all of us, fallible, and at times needs to reconnect with his mother, Donda. The unedited conversations with his late mother prove to be the most powerful and emotional of the whole first Act; her wise words give Ye the boost he needs after multiple setbacks, eventually pushing him on to have his all-important MTV break.

Excluding what you think of Kanye today, jeen-yuhs is a remarkable documentary. Never before has the rise of a superstar been captured in such detail, and it's all down to the imagination of Coodie and Chike, who've pulled together an unfiltered look at one of the most polarising figures in the music industry today from the very beginning of his career.

jeen-yuhs Act 1 clearly only scratches the surface, with a lot more to come from Kanye's life, including the tragic death of his mother in 2007, and some of the more controversial parts of his life (no doubt the MAGA hat will make an appearance), but stick with it, because this documentary really does set the precedent for all future biographies. In true Kanye style, once again he's changed the game.

Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy starts on Netflix on Wednesday 16th February. Read our guide to the best series on Netflix. For something else, visit our TV Guide our check out dedicated Documentaries hub.

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