jeen-yuhs: A Kanye trilogy Part 3 review — Last act in docu-series focuses on flipside of fame

3/5

The scene is established, Kanye’s risen to the ranks and his name is on everyone’s lips. Awards are being won, acceptance speeches are being said, he’s dripping in gold, and the only way is forward. But as Kanye walks along, he shakes off the baggage of the past, it’s now but a hazy memory. Along with the baggage, he’s also grown apart from the people who carried him forward. Among them are Coodie Simmons and Chike.

The reason is Kanye is increasingly territorial about the moments he spends in front of the camera. This transition is understandable because fame strips you of all privacy. And as a result of Act: III, the last chapter in this docuseries sees Kanye from an outsider’s perspective. Coodie narrates with a heavy sense of loss and nostalgia for the closeness they once shared.

The doc continues on a forlorn note as it charts how gravely Donda West’s death affected Kanye, how often he was under the scanner for his outspoken comments and the consequent mental health struggles that lead to his institutionalisation. The visuals that fill the screen with the narrative are mostly a montage of media clips.

Donda’s passing in 2007 is an event that clearly shook Kanye’s foundation, and it’s shown as a catalyst towards the declining state of his mental health. It might seem a bit simplistic an explanation, but there has been a clear difference in the way he behaved before and after this loss. It’s moving to watch Kanye and Donda sing ‘Hey Mama’ in her kitchen, and how she always had his back. And with the reputation that rap and hip hop have, it’s also refreshing to see an academic encouraging her kid to pursue this passion and to not be apologetic about his self-perception.

With the increasing distance between Kanye and Coodie, he doesn’t have much to say on the subject matter but fills in these gaps by showing how his life progressed on the side. After six years or so of being at an arm’s length from Kanye, he’s once again provided access, filming the rapper’s Sunday Service performance, and a recording session in the Dominican Republic.

It’s quite an experience, watching all the parts of the docuseries, compiled as three acts in an ongoing play. This third bit though doesn’t give a new perspective to the rapper’s narrative that commoners aren’t already aware of. It's not a satisfying conclusion to the series, of which the first two parts were more than interesting. Also, the sympathetic lens with which Jeen-yuhs tells Kanye’s story, I’m not convinced that is enough to salvage his image.

Watch the trailer here: