It isn’t a proper Kanye West project without a chaotic arrival. Part one of Chike Ozah and Coodie Simmons’ jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy documentary headed for Netflix in February debuted at the virtual Sundance Film Festival on Sunday night (Jan. 23). Just two days prior, Kanye demanded his involvement in the final edits prior to the documentary’s arrival.
Co-director Coodie Simmons — once an aspiring stand-up comic in the ’90s — had a hunch that the Chicago producer would reach stardom as a global icon. Simmons picked up a camera and documented Yeezy’s grind to rap dignitary over two decades with that in mind. with hours upon hours of shelved golden footage spanning from the ’90s through the passing of Donda West in 2007, and then his relationship with Kanye picked up once again circa 2016’s The Life of Pablo.
Part one, titled VISION, runs for about 90 minutes and tracks Kanye’s undeniable hunger for greatness: From his appearance at Jermaine Dupri’s 1998 birthday party as a relatively unknown commodity until he inks a deal with the legendary Roc-A-Fella label headed by Jay-Z and Dame Dash in summer 2002.
While there are spoilers ahead, check out our list of the best eight moments from part one of jeen-yuhs below. The entire three-part documentary hits Netflix on Feb. 16.
1. Donda West loved Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music angel chain pendant
West pays his mother a visit at her modest high-rise apartment in Chicago, which makes for a bittersweet warmhearted exchange. It’s easy to see why Kanye has so much confidence in himself when she’s gushing over his recent accomplishments in music, not knowing the remarkable global success and millions of dollars that lie ahead.
Donda West, who tragically passed away in 2007, was fascinated with Kanye’s gold chain featuring the angel pendant that would go on to serve as the logo for G.O.O.D. Music. She even joked she was worried that he bought another chain before purchasing himself a house and the entire exchange is definitely one of the most memorable scenes of chapter one.
2. Kanye confronts Dug Infinite over radio diss
With newly minted national buzz, headlined by his production on Jay-Z’s 2001 summer standout “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” and other tracks from his hip-hop opus The Blueprint, Kanye West returned to Chicago with a pep in his step. Even with his newfound success, he realizes the hate will still come even from his hometown.
Another Chicago producer by the name of Dug Infinite, who helped show Kanye the ropes behind the boards, dissed Ye during a radio interview for not name-dropping him during an XXL interview where he credited No I.D. as his mentor. West pressed Dug Infinite and the two eventually found common ground and smoothed things over.
3. Mos Def and Kanye freestyle “Two Words”
This scene was included in a trailer for the documentary but it’s too priceless not to be part of this round-up. A clip captures Mos Def and Kanye West going back and forth, exchanging their hard-hitting verses that eventually landed on Ye’s The College Dropout debut album as “Two Words.” Yeezy takes the chance to rhyme next to Mos Def in NYC so seriously that it feels like he’s spitting his last verse on earth as he somehow knows millions of people will cherish the footage decades later.
4. Rawkus Records vs. Roc-A-Fella
Some might think Kanye waltzed into Roc-A-Fella Records’ office and was handed a record deal, but he had to earn his stripes for years before even having his debut album greenlit. One 2002 scene where Kanye is giving a press interview while driving finds him admitting that his loyalty was split between Roc-A-Fella and Rawkus Records.
On one hand, Yeezy respected Jay-Z’s mogul status and saw eye-to-eye with Dame Dash, but he also worked extensively with Black Star backpack rappers Mos Def and Talib Kweli.
“It’s the Roc and Rawkus and that’s exactly what I am,” he says. “I’m like definitely the gap between both of that. I’m just as much Roc-A-Fella as I am Rawkus. Dame Dash ain’t no wack n—a, man. Jay-Z isn’t just a rapper, he’s an icon and he’s a mogul. You could be under Jay-Z and be big as hell.”
5. An R. Kelly BET appearance denying 2002 child pornography charges
This isn’t really a “best moment,” but it’s one that is sure to have viewers doing a double-take given R. Kelly’s current legal status behind bars. During a game of pool, R. Kelly’s BET interview following his 2002 child pornography charges and alleged video performing sexual acts with a minor plays in the background. The disgraced R&B star avoids the question about the viral tape but admits there are things in life he’s done that he regrets. Kanye then mocks Kelly’s unconvincing denial.
6. Kanye West meets Pharrell
Two hip-hop legends and future Child Rebel Soldier groupmates originally linked up at the Chicago stop of 2002’s Dynasty Tour. It was a star-studded affair backstage the night that Kanye would be knighted with a Roc-A-Fella chain as part of the team.
Ye meets Pharrell for the first time, and Skateboard P shows him a ton of love for his production work. Kanye returns the favor, saying he looked up to the Virginia icon. “Dope tracks,” Pharrell states while Kanye directs him to talk into the camera for his documentary. “One of the sickest n—as to do what he do. Ridiculous.”
7. He’s long wanted to drop West off his stage name
The Chicago-bred billionaire made headlines in 2021 when he legally changed his name from Kanye West to just “Ye.” But what if that was in the cards for Kanye long ago? In his first interview with MTV, Yeezy teased the idea of dropping West off his name, hoping he would achieve a certain level of fame where he could be known as a mononymous figure.
“I’m trying to get to the point where I could drop the last name off my name,” he says. “Seriously, I don’t want to jinx myself or nothing, but I’ma take this opportunity… I got some songs on my heart that the world need to hear. If I do what I’m supposed to do, people are gonna look back like, ‘Man, remember [when] dude just made beats for people?’”
8. Kanye knew The College Dropout wouldn’t flop
It sounds inconceivable now, but there was once a time Kanye couldn’t get signed as an artist, when most label execs wanted him to remain in the producer lane. Footage from circa 2002 finds a brash and irrationally confident Kanye explaining why he would never cave to industry demands.
“I don’t give a f–k about the industry, man,” he proclaims. “What you need to understand is when I do this album, it’s going to be the realest s–t you ever heard. Because if I brick, I can still eat and make a way for my family. So when I go in to do my album, I’ma do it the way I wanna f–kin’ do it. With the backing that I got, I’m not gonna say there’s no way that I could fail, but with God’s blessings, the Roc on my side, and I got Chicago on my side, It shouldn’t be no way for me to lose really.”
