Source: Netflix / Netflix
The highly anticipated documentary chronicling the rise of Kanye West through unseen footage is set to hit Netflix – but there are clouds over the release due to the rapper demanding to have the approval of the final edit beforehand.
Directed by Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah, jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy is an in-depth look at the rapper and producer on his journey to be the popular and at times controversial superstar that he is today. But on the eve of the film’s release on the streaming platform giant, West has issued a public demand that he sees the project’s final version before giving his approval. In a post on West’s Instagram page made on Friday (January 21st), the caption to the image of his face and the film title read: “I’m going to say this kindly for the last time…I must get final edit and approval on this doc before it releases on Netflix. Open the edit room immediately so I can be in charge of my own image. Thank you in advance.”
The three-part documentary is chock full of video footage taken by the pair, who had long-standing friendships with West. According to an interview that the duo did with Variety, West is listed as a producer on the project but notably was not given the chance to approve the final cut. “I said, ‘Dude, you have to trust me.’ And he did, 100%,” Coodie said at the time. He also mentioned that West’s team had reached out to him specifically about this point, saying “they’re of course going to have their say. But I needed to tell this story. It’s not about making Kanye likable or not. The footage doesn’t lie.”
The duo were approached about Ye’s demand for final edit approval while premiering the first part of the documentary at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday (January 23rd). “We have to be true to the story. We can’t sugarcoat nothing. Everybody is going to have their own opinion,” Coodie said when asked about it while doing press interviews for Indiewire.
jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy is set to debut on Netflix and in select theaters on February 16th.
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