Kanye West Documentary ‘Jeen-yuhs’ Finally Hits Netflix


Netflix’s three-part documentary on the rise of Kanye West, “Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy,” doesn’t dwell on the best-known of the rapper’s famous outbursts or try to fix the record. George W. Bush, Taylor Swift, Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian aren’t much of a factor. The West has never had a problem analyzing your own painsFinally.

Instead, the more than four-hour-long film, based on mundane footage chronicling the beginning and immediate aftermath of West’s 2004 debut album, “The College Dropout,” lingers in quieter, pre-celebrity moments: conversations with his mother, Donda, and the difference between self-confidence and arrogance. about; the desperation of trying to steal the demo CD for their unrelated colleagues; A more respected artist, disgusted by West’s orthodontic janitor.

Behind the camera throughout was Clarence Simmons, known as Coodie, who, along with his creative partner Chike Ozah, has been compiling West’s video for more than 20 years, making the transition from stand-up comedian to director. But that wasn’t always the plan.

Originally conceived as a “Hoop Dreams” style film, the documentary was supposed to end in the early 2000s when West, now legally known by his old pseudonym Ye, won his first Grammy Award. But as West transformed for Jay-Z from a geeky Chicago beatmaker to a polarizing, era-defining artist in music, fashion, and more, he distanced himself from an old neighborhood friend, Coodie, and changed his mind about the project, leaving hundreds behind. tape for hours in purgatory.

After some false starts and brief reconciliations, director duo Coodie & Chike, as they were credited, have finally found contention – and more time with the West – in recent years, in the midst of another upsurge in controversy. of the West mental health strugglesdisaster 2020 presidential run and the last album named after her late mother they all take some airtime in the third episode.

Yet the core of “Jeen-Yuhs” remains the true depiction of West’s chrysalis years, as Coodie fills in the gaps in time by telling her own tale of personal metamorphosis and creative ambition. “This isn’t the definitive Kanye West story, it’s the story told from the most unique point of view,” said Ian Orefice, head of Time Studios, who co-produced the project.

Ahead of Wednesday’s first episode premiere, Coodie and Chike discussed the long-running documentary, the ups and downs of living with mega fame, and West’s last-minute demands for the film’s final cut. These are edited excerpts from the speech.

The movie begins with the premise that you always knew Kanye would make him big. What first convinced you that she would become a star?

cookie It started with its production. But then I would keep running into Kanye and I remember him performing with his band. Go Getters. He just commanded the stage. And I was like, “That’s the guy! Producer — that’s him.” Then I saw how much you love the camera. full of love camera. He wanted to rap for anybody and it was like he was performing for a thousand people, but it’s just one person and he’s rapping them.

What was the real reason Kanye wasn’t making movies back then? In the footage, he is very excited to tell people that you are making a documentary.

cookie “Man, I don’t want anyone to see my true self,” she said. “I’m acting now,” he said. It was too friendly. But I feel like the reason he liked me when I was filming him in the beginning was because I really was that guy. I was popular in Chicago – cool, funny.

FLOWER By deciding to take him on Channel Zero, you added instant value to his Chicago brand. [Coodie’s original hip-hop show on public access television].

cookie His biggest passion was winning a Grammy and I wanted to follow him to watch it. But it’s definitely, definitely a blessing that she didn’t come out because I never knew what I was doing.

What was it like watching the rest of your rise from afar?

cookie It made me very proud to see him achieve everything he has accomplished. But then I also felt left out. When she goes to Oprah, she says, “I want to meet Oprah!” I said.

FLOWER It’s not all peachy and clean. I think that’s the case for anyone who rises to stardom this way. Coodie and I definitely felt what it was like to have outsiders start jockeying for the position. we had Bryan Barber and the Outkast vibe for a minute – it’s like we’re gonna get up and do all this together music videos. But as he got older, more people started to join the group and you just got pushed around. Fortunately, Coodie and I had a relationship and bond together and were able to find creativity elsewhere.

At this point, did you believe the project was dead or did you assume that you would eventually come back to it?

cookie I felt that one day we would come back to him. I used to look at all the mini DVs, and as he got older, I knew how valuable my footage would be: One day in God’s time, this will happen.

He just sat us down at the table at Kris Jenner’s house first. “Pablo” [the “Life of Pablo” album in 2016]It was like, “Man, you know, I was so misunderstood.” He wanted us to be his voice. We thought it was time for the documentary to come out so people could see the real Kanye. was working with Scooter Braun back then and we were on HBO with it. Then he suddenly had other plans for Kanye. We were right there and nothing happened.

I felt at that moment Kanye was crying for help. Right after, he went on a tour of Saint Pablo and that’s when Destroy – he calls it “breakthrough”. I was really worried. I thought we should help him and we couldn’t because of the forces around him. Not only did I feel anxious, I was extremely angry about it.

On a practical level, how did you keep all these tapes safe?

cookie I really didn’t even do it. You’d see it in a gym bag, in shoe boxes.

FLOWER But it’s like golden bricks in there.

cookie Now in storage though!

When did you realize that you finally had his full involvement?

cookie When I showed him the sizzle. She called me out of the blue and said she was working on an album about her mother and wanted to use some of my footage. He asked for my consent, and I said, “Oh, sure, but I need your consent for one thing. I’ll fly to wherever you are.” His security called me, “Can you come over to the DR tomorrow morning?” When I finally showed him the sizzle, he said, “We have to put this out.” tomorrow

There’s a moment in footage from the Dominican Republic where it goes to what some might call a classic Kanye rant and you cut the camera. Why?

cookie I felt like I had to pay attention. I’ve never filmed it like this. When I film him, there is a sure way to be with me – he is himself. At that moment, he was not himself. You should not drink alcohol while taking medication. I knew Kanye wasn’t supposed to drink. It so happened that he had a drink in his hand. I wasn’t going to interrupt this business meeting to say anything, but I wanted some. It was as if something had happened right after that drink. “Forget this camera – it’s my brother.” I said.

How involved did he want to be when the movie started, and how involved did you want him to be?

cookie He said, “I’ll do it, you do it,” and I told him, “You have to trust me on this one.” So there is no creative control. I said, “It wouldn’t be real if it were you.” He took all of these. And that was it.

Then you reach the 1 yard line, over 20 years later and that Bomb dropped on Instagram It’s about wanting the last cut.

cookie I almost fainted [laughs]. It was on my birthday – January 18. It didn’t send it at the time, but I’m getting text messages. I was like, “What? We’re done!”

At your birthday [in June]I went to Los Angeles with the rough cuts of the movie to show him. I said at the beginning the only way to watch this movie is with everyone who loves you. So we were buying a house, I got everyone ready to go – we’ll laugh, we’ll cry, we’ll hug Ye. But it went to Southern France and it didn’t happen. Then it’s my birthday, I get that message – next thing I know, I look and here’s everybody coming with the cake. “Happy Birthday!

Did he ask again to enter the editing room?

cookie No, his process is to get people to look at him, so we showed them the movie. Ask Kanye, “Did you watch the movie?” I asked. And he said it wasn’t his process.

The films we made, no one had certainty. We did Martin Luther King – there was no eventual interruption in the family. We did Muhammad Ali, they didn’t. Stephon Marbury didn’t see his documentary until it aired on Tribeca. Our intentions are pure and that’s the only thing that really matters.

Do you have any favorite items that you can’t squeeze out of the cutting room floor, no matter how much you want it?

FLOWER There is a scene where Kanye returns to Chicago to commemorate people lost in traffic. E2 tragedy [a stampede at a Chicago nightclub]. When he gets there, he is forced to make a deal with another rapper. Almost broke a bottle on his head – it’s getting really ugly. It could have gone to a worse place. And Kanye isn’t even that kind of artist! But he still can’t get rid of the street mentality. And he’s dealing with a shot that Jay-Z ended and helped advance Kanye’s career.

cookie “Never Change” was written in “The Blueprint”. Sold the piece he sold to Jay-Z [the Chicago rapper] Payslip too. Wrote payroll hook – “Don’t run around in the same clothes for days.” Kanye reported to Payroll that he was about to sell, but he also made the Payroll hook. Kanye was interested in Payroll after that, but Payroll was like this: continue … “You have to give me more,” Kanye said. I tell them, no! But the beef patties were also good.

Kanye is back in the tabloids these days due to his divorce. When you see this famous whirlwind side of her life, do you worry about her?

cookie I used to worry, but I know God has your back. Several times he nearly died in a car accident—before he moved to New York, he was in a car accident in Chicago, overturning his truck. Few more incidents I’ve seen – God is really looking for him for whatever reason. When I see this now, it’s like everything will pass.





Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *