User Reviews

Jeen-Yus had me glued to the screen. The documentary is long but I was engaged throughout. The first two parts gave me a lot of respect for Kanye. Part three broke my heart and it was hard to watch. No matter your opinion on Kanye, this behind the scenes look into Kanye West's rise to fame is engrossing for fans and non fans alike.

Extremely well told story. Now, that's a documentary mannnn .

Incredible. Insightful. Eye-opening. Both in terms of what I learned about Kanye and his thoughts, most important about God, but also how Coodie told this story and put together a documentary. This will all contribute to my story and story telling abilities.

For all his flaws Kanye is an interesting individual. This is Coodies love letter to a friend, turned icon. By sheer force of will he created himself in the image of the greatest men who have lived, and Coodie was along for the ride to capture the humanity of it all. It's a very moving documentary. Because of Coodies heart and friendship, you feel the intensity of being present but not reaching the man who would be king in the last film. It's very impactful, heartful and beautiful, no matter of your a fan of the individual in front of the camera or not.

As usual, people get so biased by their personal views of the subject that they can't perceive the merits of the presentation in its own right. Ignore the naysayers, this is an acutely edited and thoughtful documentary. 'Coodie' did a fantastic job of capturing enough candid footage to weave together a fascinating insight into the clearly troubled trajectory of an equally troubled mind. Should a person's whole life be judged on it's later stages? Of course not, the earlier Kanye, his expressions, drives and influences are as interesting as anyone elses, it's a compelling human story. The documentary itself is great at balancing the narrative, hinting at things to come, showing everyday moments that feel loaded with various nuances of significance to the overall story. People don't choose their brains or contexts, a highly judgemental attitude seems to have blinded many from appreciating the craft going on here, both with Kanye's talent and Coodie's clear skill as an excellent documentarian. I'm not into hiphop whatsoever, have never even listened to a Kanye album and couldn't quote a single lyric. But I found this essential, compelling viewing.

This film is incredible, and for anyone who is even aware of Kanye West, this is a must see.

The first "act" in this trilogy paints a portrait of a man certain of his stardom, desperately searching for someone willing to open the door for him. Kanye wasn't an industry plant. In fact, this documentary shows that nearly everyone in the industry was perfectly content with him sitting on the sidelines. No one wanted to give him a record deal.

Even through rejection though, Kanye never stopped believing that he was destined for greatness. With the support of his mother, a few friends, and his own ego, we watch Ye carve a place for himself in music history.

For any artist trying to break through into any industry, this is documentary is truly inspiring.

I must say, when I first heard about this docuseries, I thought to myself, "yet another puff piece". But I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was put together. How well the struggle was captured, and how the world got to see a side of Kanye that many have chosen to ignore, the musical genius.

I have renewed respect for the man, even though I knew of his accolades in the music production scene, I get it now.

A very well put together documentary that shows how and where it all begun, and progressed. I encourage everyone to watch this, despite of your feelings about Kanye.

Last but not least, this highlights my take and passion for something I feel doesn't get enough attention, mental health.

I am not a hip hop nor rap fan and what I've known of Kayne West was mostly from the news. This documentary shows a young man trying to fulfill his dreams and a sweet supportive mom who was inspiring him all the way through. It brought a new perspective regarding Kayne West. It is a nice documentary.

Was blown away! I've always been a fan of Kanye but now even more so... this documentary is truly a masterpiece! From his humble beginnings watching him hustle never giving up on his dreams.. truly inspirational! The close bond he had with his mother Donda was beautiful to see. A powerful, sad, insightful, motivational must see especially if you're a fan of hip hop!

He has influenced rap music more than any other artist. He has influenced fashion more than any other brand. Thanks to his narcissistic personalitty he made this far!!!

The first episode really is good. It shows the struggle of Kanye getting recognized, the energy and risk he had to take to make it. The runtime of the episode was to long and it lost its momentum often.

The second episode was OK but was again to long especially with the lost connection between Coodie and Kanye. If you didn't follow Kanye antics like I did you got lost.

The thirth episode was a real missed opportunity. You come back into Kanye's life and seeing him struggle with his mental health. Suddenly in this episode the documentary switches to the fly on the wall style. This is painfull to watch and this being filmed by a friend you as a audience are waiting for a intervention. This doesn't come and it makes it a long and agonizing view. There is no real closure or point we're we leave the story.

I don't understand why release it like this. The first episode makes a good story about the fight of a unknown artist to make it. It would have been a good on its own. Sitting on this footage for so long and not have any closure is disappointing.

Not sure how you can dislike it to be honest. I feel people are already watching this with a preconception of Kanye.

I for one prefer the old Kanye like I am sure many do and haven't followed his music more recently. But if you can't watch this masterpiece and appreciate where he came from, what he did to get to where he is then I don't have hope for you.

Just because you don't like him now and he has changed and you think he is sick now (which i don't disagree with) doesn't mean you can't watch this with a fresh pair of eyes and no judgement. Because the risks he took and the mindset he had that he was the best all captured on film is breathtaking viewing in my eyes and you have to appreciate a genius at work.

I enjoyed the show. I'm not a fan of Kanye - the music or the man - particularly but I found this engaging and well made.

I didn't know a lot about him in fairness ahead of this show and am often wary about taking documentaries as gospel (no pun) because it's through the lens of the film maker BUT I have to say Coodie Simmons has done well here. He's respectful of Kanye's private moments (particularly in episode 3) and seems to not want to glorify the man's issues.

I liked it.

From rags, to riches, to madness.

A humanizing psychological-documentary where you will see a young man with smaller means who grows up to be a global rap superstar. With the fame, came madness. Interesting watch!

If you want to know more about him and his rise from a humble young Chicago rapper and producer to the self-involved narcissist with delusions of grandeur that he his today, I guess this is the show for you.

I was never much of a Kanye fan but after watching the first episode all I can say is wow. This is a story we can all relate to. The American Dream, hard work, self love, drive, and determination. I never write reviews but felt this one warranted my time.

Without spoiling it, you get behind the scenes footage that nobody has seen, of how Kanye was able to overcome early obstacles in his career. Amazing never before seen nostalgic footage. Much respect!

I'm not a Kanye fan, I missed that boat right at the start and wasn't ever able to board. Shame as some of my friends love his stuff, and I like a couple of tracks (no more parties in LA is a banger)

But we've all seen the news and I guess we all make jusdgements about what kind of man Kanye is based on what we know.

This doc was a real revolution, breathing a bit of fresh air into the Kanye story - it's edited so well, it paints a picture of his earlier life, before he got rich and famous and dare I say arrogant and mentally unstable. Kanye used to be a nice dude! And his mom, wow, she was pretty awesome!

That later part of his life is also shown, but with grace and good will. Even though the film makers were largely excluded from his life by this point.

I think coodie and chike have done an excellent job here, this is great work.

This should appeal to fans and non fans alike.

The boy Coodie did this documentary justice! Brilliant depiction of his childhood friend...the God MC, Kanye West! Despite all his trials and tribulations that play out in the public eye, this doc reminded me of how nice Kanye is on the mic as well as on the beats! His conviction of his own abilities was apparent from day one! Even when no one at the Roc took him seriously, he proved his greatness. Bravo!

Absolutely witnessing pure genius and regardless of your opinion of Kanye it's beautiful to see pure human hustle and endeavour! This is an inspirational watch for any Human at any point in time.

Kanye West is an enigma. Whether you're a fan of his music or not, "Jeen-Yuhs" is bound to resonate with almost everyone.

It's about a man who's so adept at his craft, and ahead of his game, that the world has a hard time catching up to his sheer determination to succeed and his ability to rewrite the rules of the rap-game in early 2000's New York.

It reads like a heroes journey, but it feels grounded and thoughtful, familiar yet absurd. The genius of this man, and his struggles to succeed is just so well told.

Also, this is one spectacularly edited documentary, with some top-notch direction. I love this series.

I've liked kanye, not liked him, and generally am on the fence overall. However, I always thought he was an artist and not just a musician. I think this documentary solidifies that and helps me understand a person like himself sees the world as a blank canvas. I've enjoyed the first installment and will be watching the rest. Definitely engaging if you like hip hop and he sort of was a disruptor to the whole hip hop scene and now has become a bit of disruptor beyond music. Just take it for what it is. Interesting people don't always come along!

To keep it brief. I was doubting between a 6 and a 7. So although it was really cool to see all these unseen old videos of Kanye's rise and struggle to get signed. I kept wondering why it took 2 out of 3 episodes to get to the first album release.

And now i know why. I don't feel like this is really the documentary what I expected it to be. Its more Kanye's life through the eyes of Coodie. The guy filming everything. Some parts are not even about Kanye, they are solely about Coodie.

And since Coodie wasn't around much after the college dropouts release, there are huge parts of the story missing. I feel like if you really want to recap Kanye's career you are better off watching a documentary that someone on YouTube made.

So yeah my conclusion is that its fun to watch once if you are intrested in Kanye's raise. But thats it. Don't expect a documentary like "i'll sleep when i'm dead". It really is just 4,5 hours of raw footage and the opinion of Coodie.

Amazing and inspiring documentary regardless of the baseless comments Kanye haters are saying. There will always be people like that everywhere, they just hate his person because he thinks different.

Please watch and make your own opinion.

First thing's first: I enjoy Kanye's music, art, fashion, and story. So there may be bias in that. But despite the fact, I will be doing my best to solely judge this documentary on its cinematic merits. And that being said, this documentary had great potential, but seemed to not know what it wanted to do with its scenes. At times, the movie felt self-indulgent with scenes running on way further than it should've. Some things could've easily been clipped out. And it could've perhaps used a better narrative and writing when it came to describing Kanye's life; at times, it felt like Coodie was spilling in his own limelight a little too much as well. I get that it was his perspective, but perhaps it would've done better separated from the fact, and shown Kanye's story as a triumphant rise and a roller coaster of a life, to his tragic downfalls.

The clips recorded had great potential.

Greatest artist of all time, only problem i have with it is that they tried to tell us to turn the cam off on ye when we dont like what hes saying or when it doesn't fit the bs agendas ur taught by the ... media to buy into. Anyways YE24. I must add seeing Donda and her interactions with Ye was the most beautiful thing, she was soo precious and the way she interacted with ye shows how great they both are. Ye will forever be my and millions of others around the worlds leader, they will never be able to take that away from us, no matter how hard they try, you can never be 'Cancelled' !

We Stand With Ye today the same way we stood w ye foe the past 10 years and the same way we will stand with ye 10 years from now.

Great story and background on the life and living of Ye and his mom in the past. Almost nothing on his current/recent life, which is a shame.

The docu in general though..way too long,l and a lot of bad quality video (I understand the reason) but it's just way too much and unnecessary).

Worth a watch though, to get inside the mind and background of a great artist! Just as a whole, not a great docu. Got to work with what you have I suppose.