Since February 16, the documentary mini-series Jeen Yuhs (understand “genius”, “genius”) on Netflix, traces the incredible career of Kanye West. Three episodes signed Coodie, a director and close to the rapper who filmed him for twenty years – which is reminiscent of what Orelsan’s brother did with never show that to anyone.
The first episode of Jeen Yuhs focused on the young Kanye West at the dawn of the 2000s, unknown to the general public despite his talents as a producer. We also discovered particularly touching sequences between the artist and his mother Donda, overflowing with love for her son.
In the second part, put online this Wednesday, the career of Ye (he calls himself that now), operates a real rise in power. Entitled Purpose (“objective” in French), the episode highlights the rapper’s incredible determination to find a place in music in the United States. It’s frankly lunar to see struggling to make his voice heard the one who will become a few years later one of the most influential artists on the planet. It is also particularly moving to witness the creation of his first album, considered today as one of the great classics of rap.
“I’m on the way to rap”
As evidenced by the very first sequence of the episode, Ye’s unfailing will goes back at least to adolescence. The scene takes place in 1990 during a family party at the West’s in Chicago, immortalized by a camera. Kanye, 13, plants himself in front of the lens and swings his flow. “I am on the way to rap (…) I will knock the top 10 MCs off I will eject them (…). I shine in first place, no return possible, ”he raps fluidly, with a confident gaze.
But the road will be long. Ten years later, Kanye West still has faith but struggles to pass the second. We are in 2002, the artist has just signed a contract with Roc-A-Fella Records, the label of Jay-Z or Cam’ron at the time. A good blow for Kanye, who however suffers from not succeeding in being taken seriously in his role as a rapper. A true genius of composition, people mainly call on him for his talents as a producer.
In October of that same year, his momentum was also slowed down by a road accident. He escapes the worst, but his jaw nevertheless has several fractures, forcing him to immobilize for a few weeks. After the running gag of the braces during the first episode, we then witness surreal sequences of Ye at the dentist and maxi close-ups of his mouth in the process of having his jaw crushed. An embarrassing moment, a bit disgusting but quite fascinating. In short, we cannot honestly say that the artist had the wind in his sails that year, and there is no reason to believe that twenty years later he will fill stadiums…
“I know how to learn”
As he confides in his friend Coodie and his camera that follows him everywhere, it is in this accident that Kanye West draws additional strength to realize his dreams. An event that he will tell in the clip of Through the Fireone of his first hits.
A title that will appear in The College Dropout, the first album that Kanye West struggles to record. For lack of experience or talent? No, for lack of money and support from his label. We see him scratching a few minutes here and there with other artists to record bits of songs during their own studio recording sessions. There he meets Jay-Z, Scarface, or even Ludacris who tells him that he is “gifted”. No one seems to suspect (except Kanye himself) that in just a few years, the rapper will overshadow them like never before. With the exception of Pharell Williams, completely blasted when the rapper makes him listen to a demo.
“You’re a phew … I’m impressed”, “man it’s exceptional”, he said, adding, “I recognize a guy who will succeed”. Galvanized by these positive feedbacks, Kanye West believes in it a little more each day. “I was told not to rap,” he explains in an interview a few months before the release of his album. I don’t have the best voice, I don’t have a tough image and I don’t have a record. Some say that’s why I can’t rap. For me rap is an extension of what I express with music (…) I have ideas that Jay-Z cannot achieve. So I say to myself: how does Kevin Liles [un célèbre producteur de musique] can say that I can’t rap? He doesn’t know what I have inside me. I know how to learn. »
“This whole album is a kind of rehabilitation”
With determination, the rapper achieved his first goal the following year, in 2004: The College Dropout, the album that he had so much trouble defending with his label, is finally out. On its first release, it ranks number 2 in sales. The following summer, he received 10 Grammy Award nominations and won the “Rap Album of the Year” and “Rap Song of the Year” trophies. “This whole album is a kind of rehabilitation,” Ye felt at that time. Finally, The College Dropout will go four times platinum – it remains his best-selling album – and will establish itself as one of the greatest classics of American rap. A real moment of grace. After that ?
The first two episodes finally lean on the Kanye West that we have a little forgotten: the musician and the genius rapper who marked the history of hip-hop. Posted next Wednesday, the finale should address slightly more divisive aspects of the artist, in particular his involvement in politics. His private life should probably also be mentioned there, his marriage to Kim Kardashian or his bipolarity.