Netflix has acquired the rights to a documentary series covering the life and career of Kanye West. The series has been in the works for the past 21 years, and is set to cover the death of his mother, Donda, back in 2007, as well as his failed 2020 presidential bid.
The film/series is currently untitled, and will include unseen home videos of West that were taken by Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah over the past two decades. Ozah is known for directing West’s music videos Jesus Walks and Through the Wire.
Billboard reported that the series is likely to be released later this year, and Netflix acquired the rights to it for $30 million. It’s currently unknown if the documentary will discuss West’s pending divorce/ past relationship tribulations with reality star Kim Kardashian West.
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Kris Jenner, West’s mother-in-law, did recently claim how the couple’s divorce will be featured in the final season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, which is currently airing on E!
Within the past two decades Kanye West has had one of the most rollercoaster careers in the industry. He first became known as a producer, mainly for his work on Jay-Z’s The Blueprint, before launching his own successful music career with albums The College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation.
In 2008 he released 808s and Heartbreak, and in 2010 with the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West’s legacy as a musician was truly solidified. Those three albums were thought to really shoot West into the mainstream.
In 2013 he went full on experimental with his Yeezus album, which was also widely regarded as one of his best albums by fans. Then, as the decade progressed West’s Christian faith became more central to the art he was creating, in fact, his most recent album, Jesus Is King, was a gospel-inspired body of work that won best contemporary Christian music album at the Grammys last month.
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West is also no stranger to controversy. In the beginning of his career he made headlines by calling out George W Bush for his lack of care for Black people after Hurricane Katrina, and interrupting teenage Taylor Swift during her first ever major win in the music industry.
In 2016, West also made it public that he supported Donald Trump until 2020 when he announced he was “taking the red hat off” to run for president himself. His support over Trump, claims that slavery was “a choice,” and anti-abortion rants led to him becoming one of the most controversial individuals in the music industry.
In 2014, he married Kardashian and the two would go on to have four children together before filing for divorce in 2021. Kardashian recently took to social media to ask the public to have more compassion for West, after implying a lot of his erratic behavior was triggered by his bipolar disorder.
While the documentary has no set release date, it’s expected that we will likely see it around Summer.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
