- Words Solly Warner
Netflix has acquired the rights to a documentary series spanning two decades of Yeezy’s life and we can't WAIT.
Rumoured to have cost Netflix a cool $30 million, the yet to be named documentary will include home videos and unseen footage shot over the past 20 years or so. Created by directors Clarence Simmons and Chike Ozah, documentation of Kanye’s life started as a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of his “Through The Wire” video, which the duo directed back in 2003. Clarence and Chike stayed in touch with Kanye ever since, filming all parts of his life, covering everything from the death of his mother, to his controversial appearance on SNL, to his failed 2020 US presidential bid.
Starting out as an awkward, polo wearing producer, Kanye is continually argued to be one of the most influential artists of the 21st century. Along with this, the rapper lauded for his ground-breaking and trendsetting music, has also been surrounded by frequent controversy throughout his career. Whether it’s his infamous interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV video music awards, setting off a decade-long fallout between the two stars, or coming out as a Trump supporter in 2016, Kanye has never been shy of speaking out.
It is unknown if Kanye’s current pending divorce with Kim Kardashian West will be included, but as the series has been a long time in the making, viewers can hope to see more of Ye than the brief glimpses as a quiet husband and father in KUWTK. It has been reported from Clarence Simmons that the series “will tell the story of the rapper and producer’s rise to success and fame’s impact on him as well hip-hop’s impact on popular culture and the world’s evolving relationship with celebrity”.
With a release date yet to be confirmed, the docuseries is expected to drop at some point later this year.
