Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy

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In 2002, Clarence “Coodie” Simmons dropped everything to follow a little-known Chicago producer named Kanye West to New York City.

Kanye West didn’t sign off on this docuseries—and that’s what makes it electric. (but his best buddy did).

It’s the raw, unauthorized climb from Chicago nobody was supposed to capture.

It’s the rawest Kanye footage you’ll ever see.

Thanks to David Senra of Founders Podcast for reminding me how awesome this docuseries is.

Trailer for “Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy”

Watch “Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy”

You can watch “Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy” on Netflix here.

It should stay there (since it’s a Netflix Original).

Ratings:

  • My Rating: 95/100
  • IMDB Rating: 8/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 88/100 (Users); 82/100 (Critics)

Director’s Note: Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah (known as Coodie & Chike) directed this trilogy. They’re the same duo behind Kanye’s early music videos like “Through the Wire” and “Two Words”.

Release Date: Premiered at Sundance Film Festival January 23, 2022; Netflix release began February 16, 2022.

My Review of “Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy”

The Setup

This is the most intimate Kanye doc ever made. It’s not retrospective—it’s real-time footage from when Kanye was still asking for meetings at Roc-A-Fella Records, crashing studios, and showing up at offices with CDs in hand.

A few years later, it captures his meteoric rise—and eventual estrangement from the guy who documented it all.

You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up

  • Kanye storms Roc-A-Fella’s office in 2002 and raps “All Falls Down” for label staff who barely look up from their desks.
  • After his near-fatal car crash, Kanye has his jaw wired shut — and still records “Through the Wire,” using real hospital footage for the music video.
  • At a real estate meeting, fresh from a manic episode, Kanye compares his brain swelling to Deadpool’s superpowers—until Coodie cuts the camera out of empathy.

More Highlights from the Doc

  • During the chaotic “Slow Jamz” video shoot, Kanye yells, “I’m spazzing!” at the crew—only for the shoot to be shut down by cops moments later.
  • We see Kanye carrying a single CD of “Through the Wire” around New York—hand-delivering it because there was no streaming yet.
  • At the “Through the Wire” release party, Kanye calls out Roc-A-Fella for refusing to pay for the video—guilt-tripping the label into backing him.
  • Kanye’s mother, Donda West, reminds him, “A giant looks in the mirror and sees nothing,” grounding him at a time when no one else could.

Cameos

  • Scarface listens to Kanye’s beats in a tiny studio—but walks away before recording anything.
  • Jay-Z and Mos Def pop up in casual, unpolished moments—before the superstardom swallowed them up.
  • Pharrell Williams — Kanye meets Pharrell backstage at a Jay-Z concert. Pharrell is already a star. Kanye is just “the producer kid”—but that would soon change. completely stunned after hearing “Through the Wire,” pulls Kanye aside to tell him he’s the future.

Lesser-Known Details from the Doc

  • Coodie had to self-finance parts of the early footage, believing Kanye would eventually make it.
  • At one point, Coodie narrates how he felt invisible as Kanye’s fame grew—especially when Kanye swapped his inner circle for celebrity handlers.
  • Kanye’s early hesitation to discuss his bipolar disorder on-camera led Coodie to stop filming during his darkest moments out of respect.
  • The title “Jeen-yuhs” comes from a monologue Kanye gave about himself in the mid-2000s—when no one was calling him a genius yet.

Wrap Up

“Jeen-yuhs” isn’t just about Kanye—it’s about ambition, loss, and what happens when a dreamer finally gets everything he ever wanted. It’s raw, it’s emotional, and it hits harder because it was never meant to be a PR piece.

Thanks for reading!

Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc

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