10 Big Revelations From Part 1 of Kanye West’s ‘Jeen-Yuhs’ Documentary

Kanye West can be an open book when it comes to sharing his every thought on social media, but there are some aspects of his life that have been kept out of the public eye—until now. This week, the first film in the jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy series was released on Netflix. 

The documentary was brought to life thanks to filmmakers Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah,  longtime friends and collaborators of Kanye. In the ’90s, Coodie was an aspiring comedian coming out of Chicago, who started a show called Channel Zero, where he spoke to big names in hip-hop. When he started hearing about a Chicago producer everyone wanted to work with, Coodie decided to pick up a camera and document Kanye’s journey to becoming a successful rapper.  

The first part of the documentary, titled Vision, takes us behind the scenes during Kanye’s early days as a producer and his desire to transition to a respected rapper. With cameos from figures like Mos Def, Jay-Z, Dame Dash, and his late mother Donda West, the film paints a picture of who Kanye was before the fame. And, to no surprise, some things never change. 

Here are ten of the biggest revelations that came to light from the first part of jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy. And you can read our interview with Coodie and Chike about the making of the documentary here.