92. Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (Act 1); movie review

 

JEEN-YUHS: A KANYE TROLOGY

Cert 15

89 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language

Usually, I adore music documentaries. 

I loved the right-acclaimed Summer Of Soul and immersed myself fully into the whole of The Beatles' Get Back.

So, I expected to enjoy Act 1 of the Kanye West Jeen-Yuhs trilogy so much that I would devour parts II and III immediately.

But, sadly, I didn't.

Clarence 'Coodie' Simmons and Chike have gone back to footage Simmons recorded of West (apparently now known as 'Ye') back in the early 2000s to show a different side to the rapper.

Nowadays, we know him as the blustering ego who even put himself up for the 2020 United States presidential race.

Back then, he was a successful producer who couldn't find a label who would take him seriously as a hip-hop artist.

So, despite his connections and huge confidence in himself, he was forced to spend swathes of time trying to persuade executives that he would be worth their investment.

Simmons had been a stand-up comedian but gave up his own career to follow West because he believed he would make it big.

At the time his subject was a fairly amiable young man who had a terrific work ethic and loved his mum.

When he suggested making a documentary, Simmons was allowed to be part of his in-crowd.

I was looking forward to seeing the truth behind the man who has been behind so many headlines over the past 20 years but the the footage is akin to a home movie.

The hand-hand images are haphazard and often it is difficult of understand what is being said. The sentences I could comprehend were littered with the n-word.

And rather than concentrate on Kanye and his music (I don't recall one track which is played all the way through), Simmons' focus seems to be on visual name-drops.

Therefore, almost everyone in the hip-hop scene in either Chicago, where West started out, or New York, is name-checked.

I accept I wasn't the film's target audience because I am not a hip-hop aficionado but I had a genuine interest in learning more about this 21st century icon. However, I didn't find it compelling enough to watch episodes two and three and only the first part was shown at cinemas.

Maybe his fans will see it as an addendum to what they already knew about their hero.

Reasons to watch: Music history

Reasons to avoid: Very disjointed

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 4/10

Did you know? Kanye moved to Nanjing, China with his mom, Donda West, for a short time when he was 10 years old after she accepted a teaching job there. He learned Mandarin while he was there, but he no longer remembers how to speak it. 

The final word. Coodie Simmons: " I thought Kanye had a crazy work ethic, but then, watching the film and all the footage, I must have had one too. But it felt like we were just having fun. We were just moving in our passion, so it wasn't work. It was just a flow that God put us on and I stuck with it." Netflix

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