Many documentaries about pop artists follow a similar pattern: you put a few gray-haired fellow musicians and journalists in front of the camera, drain them about legendary performances and edit some archive material through them. The viewer is fed a baby mash for an hour – just wipe the button and zap.
Clarence ‘Coodie’ Simmons and Chike Ozah take a different tack. At the turn of the century, they decided to follow a young Chicago producer named Kanye West. He already has success as a beatmaker for Jay-Z, among others, but his dreams extend beyond a life behind the mixing desks in the service of others; he wants to rap himself. The result is the documentary Jeen-yuhs – A Kanye Trilogy, divided into three parts of one and a half hours each: up to and including his breakthrough (parts 1 and 2) and around 2020 (part 3). From February 16, a part will appear on Netflix every week.
Provided: you don’t have to be a fan of Kanye to love jeen-yuhs to enjoy. In fact, it could just be that you turn off the TV and turn out to have become a fan. The documentary is not a parade of successes and arrogant monologues. On the contrary, rarely does a pop artist of this size allow himself to be captured in such a vulnerable manner.
This is also due to the makers’ choices. The perspective of director Coodie, underlined by his voice-over, is leading; you see Kanye’s development through his eyes, as if through a friend’s. The documentary was filmed from the hand, which creates tension – think of The Blair Witch Project† You get the feeling that the camera is almost accidentally capturing moments, things you might not have seen. This makes the viewer feel involved, something that is often lacking in the talking head style.
The scene where Kanye the later world hit All Falls Down raps for moderately interested staff of record label Roc-A-Fella goes through the marrow. You almost want to yell at the screen: It’s going to be okay, Kanye! But then you realize it’s okay had to come up with a mother like Donda West. You can see with your own eyes what her trust does to her son. Her words feel almost prophetic: ‘The giant looks in the mirror and sees nothing.’
jeen-yuhs shows the gray area between passion and megalomania, between a star-in-the-button and a castle builder in the air. Perseverance, you think afterwards, is a nice quality. Combined with Kanye West’s musical talent, it’s a godsend.
Jeen Yuhs – A Kanye Trilogy
docuseries
Directed by Clarence ‘Coodie’ Simmons and Chike Ozah.
Seen: parts 1 and 2.
From 16/2 on Netflix.