'Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy' Act 1 Review: Thoroughly engrossing portrait of rapper's life
Apart from being one of the best musicians of this generation, rapper Kanye West is certainly one of the most controversial as well. With everything that has been happening in his life, it is safe to say that the rapper’s life has been “jumping up and down in muddy puddle”. But if you want to know how Kanye turned out to be such a big name in the music industry, then Netflix’s latest documentary ‘Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’ is a perfect watch for you.
Now, it’s not necessary to be a Kanye fan to enjoy the documentary and we can understand why people have decided to unfollow him on social media lately. If you see in hindsight, the only person who has managed to harm Kanye West’s reputation is the rapper himself, but the documentary helps you in getting to know how the rapper began his career and the sacrifices he made to reach the top. The documentary has been divided into three parts and the first part of the docu-series is called ‘Vision’.
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The first act of the three-part documentary is all about the rapper’s early days and what he was doing before coming out with his first-ever album. One of the most fascinating things shown in the initial part of Act 1 is how Coodie Simpson, one of the persons who documented Kanye’s life, gave up his career in stand-up comedy and went behind the camera to show the rapper’s life journey. So, that’s the moment you realize that Kanye was destined to be a star and Coodie knew it.
Apart from documenting the ‘Stronger’ hitmaker’s journey as a producer, Act One also talks about the evolution of Chicago hip-hop, and every artist that Coodie covered had something wonderful to say about Kanye. As you move forward and see his body of work, you realize that he had something which made him different from his rivals. One of the most amazing (yet emotional) moments in Act 1 comes when Kanye West visits Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records in desperation of getting a deal. However, the rapper is unable to strike a deal with the record label and the attempt sadly ends with a performance of ‘All Falls Down’ to one of the executive assistants.
Now, we don’t know if viewers really wanted to see a three-part documentary on Kanye West and in the current scenario, they might not even want to hear his name, but ‘Jeen-Yuhs’ is certainly one of the well-made documentaries we have seen in recent years. Act 1 takes viewers on an intimate journey and presents them with a side of the artist that has never been explored.
His determination to make it big is thoroughly engaging, however, it’s his relationship with his mother that really makes this documentary shine. We get to know that his mother, Donda, is responsible for his amazing career and never demotivated him. She was always there for him and gave him the confidence to champion the art.
The journey is more joyous when you a Kanye fan, but even if you aren’t, the first act of the documentary series is worth watching and has everything that would make you want to see the upcoming parts as well.
Excitingly, there are two more parts still to come and we feel that those two parts will primarily focus on how he became one of the finest musicians and how his recent behavior changed everything. ‘Jeen-Yuhs’ is fascinating and takes you for a compelling ride into one of the most notorious artists ever.
Act 1 of ‘Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’ is currently streaming on Netflix.