Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (Act 1) (2022) - full transcript

[man singing indistinctly]

♪ Icky turn it down
No more turn it up ♪

♪ No more heart to serve
Throw it down nobody throw it up ♪

♪ Throwing a pound and we turn it up ♪

♪ Throwing a pound and we getting up ♪

♪ Throw it back like
Kinda when you shot a gun ♪

♪ That far like
A star loosen up the place ♪

♪ One sound like dime moving up and up
Go pro but enough is enough ♪

[cell phone ringing]

Move forward with…

with this running for president
and all things needed,



full steam ahead on that.

Also, I have a gentleman, Coodie,

that I've been working with
basically my whole life.

He has a 7.5 hour documentary.

I'd like for you to talk with him today
about where his contracts are.

He's actually with me right now.
Those are the two things I want to cover.

Don't tweet that?

[Coodie] People will understand it,
that's for sure.

[Kanye] That's it. I just want…

Sometimes, it's just…

We need that translation.
I be needing a translator real bad.

[chuckles] Sometimes.

[Coodie] Mm-hmm.

[VCR clicking and whirring]



[laughter]

Over there.

[hip-hop music playing]

[woman 1] One, two, three, go!

One, two. Over here.

Taylor, I'mma let you finish.

I am Shakespeare in the flesh.

[female reporter 1] "The ego is overdone."

I just told you who I thought I was.
A god.

[woman 2] That was really emotional…

[Kanye] ♪ I hate the new Kanye
The always rude Kanye ♪

[woman 3] Embarrassing act of desperation…

[man 1] He knows he's not wrong.

That's not what it is.

So many sides of Kanye, so many aspects
of his life people don't know about.

This is Coodie. He shot all the footage.

[man 2] Coodie!

I wouldn't be here
if it weren't for this man.

[imperceptible chatter]

♪ A chance to be with you ♪

♪ On Judgment Day
He's gonna blame me ♪

[upbeat music playing]

-[woman] Kanye.
-[cell phone rings]

[Coodie] Every great story
begins with a vision.

[indistinct chatter]

Shout-out to JD, man.
The name of my show is Channel Zero.

You can get buck wild,
you can say what you want.

You can kick it or do whatever.

That's how we do it,
you know what I'm saying?

Yeah, yeah.

What, what? Channel Zero, y'all.
Like I said, we back on the scene.

JD's birthday party.

We got my man, Murda Mase, baby.
What's the deal, baby?

I'm chillin'.

I'm just happy to be here,
happy to be a part of it.

Happy to still be breathing
at 20, you know?

For sure. I see you
havin’ much success, man."

What's next, man?

Next is all our records, my label.

Harlem World, the group.

Harlem World, makin' it happen. What's up?

Everybody introduce y'all self.

I'm Cardan. Harlem World, all out.

Suga J, all out!
Harlem World, The Movement.

Yeah, Blinky Blink, Harlem World, all out.

D.Gritty, all out. The Teamsters, what?

Hey, yo, we got my man, Kanye.

This motherfucker… tracks man.

Man, hold on. This nigga from Chi-Town.

He hanging out with Harlem World.
They doing they thing.

-What's up with you, baby?
-Yo, what's up?

Yo, I want to send
a shout-out to 87th Street outfit,

my man John-John, back at the crib,

Leonard, Aaron, Timmy.

[Coodie] You might say
you miss the old Kanye.

Well, I first put the camera on him
back in 1998

when he was just
an up-and-coming producer.

I had no idea that this short interview
would be the beginning of a brotherhood

that would last for more than 20 years.

Yo! Chi-Town represent.
Chi-Town made it down here, boy.

Somebody from the crib
made it down here, boy.

All right.

Once they get that drink rolling,
we gonna really be able to clown…

I bet y'all wondering who the hell I am
and what I got to do with this story.

Let me take you back
to where it all started.

[host] Give it up for my boy, Coodie.

[audience cheering]

[Coodie] It was 1995.

I had just started doing stand-up comedy
on the South Side of Chicago

when Danny Sorge, a young filmmaker,

approached me about
hosting a public-access show

called Channel Zero.

Channel Zero, baby,
in full effect, with my man,

Kris Parker, KRS-One, man.

Put your hand on the screen.

Channel Zero, here with Run-DMC.

The legendary group, yo.

Hey, what you watch, man?

[chuckles] I watch Channel Zero, son.

[woman] Coodie.

[Coodie] My first thought
was hosting a TV show

would be a great way
to showcase my comedy.

Oh!

Channel Zero with Lil' Bow Wow.
How you doing?

Look at her, she's so cute.

Girl, you so--

[man] That's a nigga, man!

Are you for… Oh, he is… [laughs]

Back on Channel Zero live.

It wouldn't be live without the comedy.

It wouldn't be nothing.

[Coodie] But as we shot more episodes,
I realized we were the only ones

documenting the rise
of hip-hop in Chicago.

Channel Zero, baby. [bleep]

[singing indistinctly]

Crucial Conflict, these niggas
did snap on the second album.

Channel Zero, bringing hip-hop
to the Chicago street.

Represent with the fleet.
They finna blow up like us.

It's real hard for us
to come out in the Chi

'cause there's no labels here.

It's a gang of talent in Chicago
and it's fucked up

that it's only me,
Crucial Conflict, Do or Die,

Tung Twista, Common Sense,
rapping about the East and West Coasts.

It's some Chi-Town shit too.

[Coodie] As we were shining the light
on artists around the city,

one name kept coming up.

My man, Kanye. He a young kid, only 19.

He did most of my album, raw.

Kanye, yeah, we working
on the Syndicate stuff together.

[Coodie] The Go Getters,
what's up with the Go Getters?

This is by Kanye West.

Kanye West, multi-platinum producer.

[Coodie] I'd seen Kanye
performin' around town with his rap group,

the Go Getters.

But after producing for acts
like Jermaine Dupri,

Foxy Brown and Harlem World,
it was his beats

that were starting to break through
on a national stage.

One day, we were shooting an episode
with these local rappers,

Payroll and Don Ho.

Big Payroll represents
self-made entertainment.

[Coodie] It was one of the first times
I stepped behind the camera.

My man Coodie on the camera.

Coodie on the camera.

[Coodie] And while we were filming,

they just so happened
to take us to Kanye's crib.

[Payroll] Down to the…
The man behind the beat.

Yo, it's Kanye to the Platinum producer.

Kon-Man Produc coming at you.

Finna start working on this uno project.

You know? We finna lay down.

Also my Krazy Kat family,
Deric Angelettie, Mad Rapper,

go get their six joints,
and their joint with Eminem on there,

Mase, Raekwon, you know,
you might've heard of 'em.

-Couple… You know what I'm saying?
-[Payroll laughing]

-Also I got-- [laughs]
-Flex.

Come on, get the cameras in there.

Okay.

Hey, he a selfish little mother fucker.
A selfish producer!

"These are my beats, my scooter."
Shit-faced, smoking his career.

We smoke weed.

[Payroll] Kanye ain't sharing
nothing but beats, man. Nothing.

-[Coodie] What's in Kanye's refrigerator?
-Let's see.

[man] Oh, no.

[laughter]

-Damn!
-Peas.

-Take close notice.
-[man] He got peas in that shit.

He on a diet. [laughs]

[Coodie] Most people
just saw Kanye as a young producer

who could hook 'em up with cheap beats.

♪ Keep preachin'
Till I fuckin' reach it, baby ♪

♪ You the next Jay-Z
And I'm just sleepin' ♪

[Coodie] But he told me
the only reason why he made beats

was so that he can rap over them.

♪ …Michael Jordan ♪

♪ You got this rap game locked
You can call the warden ♪

[Coodie] We had filmed a lot of artists,

but there was just something
different about Kanye.

Hearing his rhymes…

♪ Above the knees
That must be some kid capris ♪

[Coodie] Seeing his confidence…

Sometimes you might want
your watch to match your gear.

[Coodie] There was no doubt in my mind
that he was gonna be a star.

Inspired by the film Hoop Dreams,

I had an idea
to do a documentary on Kanye,

to see how far his dreams would take him.

♪ Dog, you ain't gotta butt in lines
When the guns get burst ♪

♪ You will get yours first ♪

[Coodie] But before
I could even get started,

Kanye upped and moved to New York

with the hopes of getting a record deal.

A year went by…

And then one night, I was watching
the first-ever BET Awards.

The Roc-A-Fella family hit the stage.

And as fate would have it,

Jay-Z premiered a new song
called "H to The Izz-O."

♪ H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A ♪

♪ For shizzle, my nizzle
Used to dribble down in VA ♪

[Coodie] As soon as I heard the track,

I recognized that was the first beat
Kanye ever played for me.

Right then,
I knew my instincts had been right.

But if I wanted to make this documentary,
it was now or never.

So when Kanye said he was down,

I left my career behind…

Hey, y'all, my name Coodie.
I'm out, thank y'all.

…took a leap of faith

and moved to New York.

-[Coodie] Word.
-[man] Right here.

[Coodie] For sure, let's make it happen.

[hip-hop music playing on stereo]

Can I get this?

Yeah.

Now we need the lyrics.

This is my point.

We've been doing this shit
for a Black Star project.

It's going to be crazy.

I got to take my retainers out.

What?

I need my retainers out for TV!

[all laughing]

Oh, man!

Chills.

[Coodie] When I touched down in New York,

I started filming Kanye
the first chance I got.

And finally being there,
it was dope seeing him in action,

working with some
of the biggest MCs in the game.

What's up, y'all? This is Mos.

-This is Talib Kweli, BKMC.
-Black Star.

Showing love to my man, Kanye West,
coming from Chi-Town.

Kanye played us
some remarkable shit as usual.

[Coodie] Kanye was makin' a good livin'
producing tracks for other artists,

but he was dead set
on making his own album.

And I couldn't wait to hear
the new music that he was cooking up.

♪ Let me explain my side of it ♪

♪ Man, I promise ♪

♪ I'm so self-conscious, I have… ♪

♪ That's why you… ♪

♪ People highest up
Got the lowest self-esteem ♪

♪ The prettiest people
Do the ugliest things ♪

♪ For the road to riches
And diamond rings ♪

♪ We shine because they hate us
Floss 'cause they degrade us ♪

♪ We trying to buy back our 40 acres ♪

♪ And for that paper
Look how low we'll stoop ♪

♪ Even if you in a Benz… ♪

♪ We shine because they hate us
Floss 'cause they degrade us ♪

♪ We trying to buy back our 40 acres ♪

♪ And for that paper
Look how low we'll stoop ♪

♪ Even if you in a Benz
You still a nigga in a coupe ♪

♪ And when it falls down
Who you gonna call now? ♪

-[Coodie] J-Bizzle.
-What's up, fam?

North up here
with this nigga, a young gunner,

K to the Westside.

That camera!
You can't be doing that to that man.

Have you ever made tapes?

-Sex tapes.
-I've done a lot of things in my life.

Things that I regret now.

[mimicking] "If they have a tape of me,
I mean, they're saying it's of me…"

[laughter]

[indistinct chatter]

Now please don't record all his movements,
all his body gestures.

-Look at this mother--
-[laughs]

Would you see him?

♪ Man, I promise
I'm so self-conscious ♪

♪ That's why you always see me
With at least one of my watches ♪

[woman on stereo]
♪ Oh, it all falls down ♪

-[Greg] Yo.
-[Coodie] Yo.

Olskool Ice-Gre, the good doctor,

Abstract Mindstate,
with my man Consequence.

Kon-Man, my man, Kanye West.

-JB.
-What's the deal?

[Greg] Coodie on the camera, Channel Zero.

♪ It all falls down ♪

[JB] Oh! Oh!

Way to go! What he do?

[all laughing]

Watch the footwork.

-Aah!
-What's up?

Chilling. Hello!

What's the deal, Coodie?
Give me some love, baby. [chuckles]

Is this Channel Zero?

[Coodie] It's Kanye West.

Oh, Kanye West?
What's up, Kanye? [laughing]

-[J. Ivy] When you cut your hair?
-[Greg] January 4th.

Man, I know the date.

[laughter]

Chi-Town, we about to shine, man.

We been seeping through the cracks
one by one.

♪ Two words, Mos Def, K West, hot shit ♪

♪ Calm down, get back
Ghetto people got this ♪

♪ Game 'pon lock shit
Gun 'pon cock shit ♪

[indistinct]

[Coodie] Truth was, none of us
had grown up together back in Chicago.

We were all really just getting
to know each other.

But we bonded over the idea
that we were now here in New York,

willing to do whatever it took
to make our dreams come true.

Kanye, how would you,
uh, describe your album?

Hmm…

I feel like
it's a breath of fresh air, 'cause…

For all the people that I've been around
and all the experiences I've been through,

I seen a lot of more shit

than a lot of people has seen by the time
they get a chance to actually rap.

I have to bring in those elements…
Like, my mother's an English teacher,

um, and she used to, like, cultivate me,
you know what I'm saying,

and instill a lot of shit in me
that needs to be brought up.

Even when I rap…
Like my father is, like, a Christian, um,

marriage counselor,

so he'll bring up a lot of the issues
Black people have today.

I feel like I can't sell to you

that I'm finna come up and take your life.

I'm not gonna rap,
"I'm gonna take your life,"

'cause I think that's what's hot
or what's industry-ready.

I don't give a fuck
about the industry, man.

What you need to understand is,
when I do this album,

it's gonna be the realest shit
you ever heard because

if I fucking brick, I could still eat.

I can still make a way for my family.

So I'm gonna do my album.
I'll do it the way I fucking want to.

You know what I'm saying?

And with the backing that I get,

I don't think there's a way I could…

I'm not gonna say
there's no way I could fail,

but hopefully, with God's blessings…

and I got Chicago on my side,

it shouldn't be no way
for me to lose, really.

[Coodie] If the world was ever gonna hear
Kanye's music,

he needed a record deal.

And after producing half of The Blueprint…

[Jay-Z] Kanye West on the track.

…his sights were set on getting signed
with the number-one rap label,

Roc-A-Fella Records.

He just needed to convince Jay-Z
and his co-founders,

Dame Dash and Biggs,

that he deserved a spot on the Roc.

So one day,
we decided to bum-rush their office

and I kept my camera rolling.

[knocking on door]

[lock clicks]

[indistinct chatter]

But, basically, the hook
is a reinterpretation of the original.

[indistinct chatter]

Kanye, what's up, man?
Oh, still doing your documentary?

I thought it was finished, man.

-[Kanye] Nah, man, it's the beginning.
-It'll never be finished.

[woman] So, um, do you want the grades
or what you want?

[music playing on speakers]

♪ The girls and the boys… ♪

Right here. Changed my life.

[chuckling]

Let me play you some stuff.

[woman] ♪ I'm telling you
Oh, it all falls down ♪

[R&B tune playing on speaker]

I gotta take these out in order to rap.

♪ Man, I promise ♪

♪ I'm so self-conscious ♪

♪ She has no idea
What she's doing in college ♪

♪ That major that she majored in
Don't make no money ♪

♪ But she won't drop out
Her parents will look at her funny ♪

♪ Now, tell me that ain't insecure ♪

♪ The concept of school seems so secure ♪

♪ Sophomore three years
Ain't picked a career ♪

♪ She like, "Fuck it
I'll just stay down here and do hair" ♪

♪ 'Cause that's enough money
To buy her a few pairs of new Airs ♪

♪ 'Cause her baby daddy
Don't really care ♪

♪ She's so precious
With the peer pressure ♪

♪ Couldn't afford a car so
She named her daughter Alexis ♪

♪ She had hair so long
That it looked like weave ♪

♪ Then she cut it all off now
She look like Eve ♪

♪ And she be dealing with some issues
That you can't believe ♪

♪ Single Black female
Addicted to retail and well ♪

♪ Oh, well… ♪

[knocking at door]

♪ Oh, it all falls down ♪

-Man, I promise…
-I'm telling you…

[Chaka Pilgrim] I'm doing well,
and yourself?

I was going to ask you about this,
but now I'm asking in a different context.

-[continues indistinctly]
-[men chuckle]

I'll play it for Carline now.

-[rap music playing on speakers]
-[Kanye speaking indistinctly]

Roc-A-Fella Records.

Hold on, one second.

♪ She's so precious
With the peer pressure ♪

♪ Couldn't afford a car
So she named her daughter Alexis ♪

♪ She had hair so long
That it looked like weave ♪

♪ Then she cut it all off… ♪

You heard what she said?

♪ And she be dealin' with some issues… ♪

You know what I get lately?

♪ Single Black female
Addicted to retail, and well ♪

Hi, baby!

♪ Keep it going, yeah ♪

♪ "Damn, why she saying the same thing" ♪

-Do you have it on you?
-Yeah.

-[song ends]
-[applause over speakers]

[Carline speaking indistinctly]

Oh, you getting a BlackBerry?
That's the thing to have now.

'Cause you get full emails on that.

Cut the camera, please. Thank you.

-Bye.
-[Carline] Later.

-Bye.
-Bye.

We doing a documentary
and shit right here.

-This boy's hot right here.
-Yeah.

He's flaming.

Make sure I get my beats, man!

Yeah.

-That's how it go down, huh?
-Yeah.

[Coodie] The first time
I heard Kanye's music,

I thought it would win Grammys.

But Roc-A-Fella just wouldn't
take him seriously as a rapper.

It was like they only
looked at him as a producer.

[receptionist] Cayenne is here to see you.

Here to see Clue.

Cayenne?

I need some shit for my album, man.

Everyone else is getting beats except me.

What kind of joints you want?

Some hard street shit.

Okay. All right.

[Coodie] The more time I spent with Kanye,
the more I wanted him to win.

But I also saw how everyone played him.

And I knew it would be an uphill battle

for him to earn
the industry's respect as a rapper.

You know how you say
you never knew a nigga that went…

That's how Chicago niggas never know
nobody that made it in the game.

-[man] Yeah.
-They don't know nobody that fucking…

Chicago, what platinum rapper we got?

-None.
-R. Kelly, nigga.

-No, rapper.
-Rapper.

We got Common.
He finally went gold after five albums.

-He's sick. Common's sick.
-He better than most rappers.

-That's what I'm saying.
-Straight-up.

We watched that nigga bust his whole shit
trying to just get a little notice.

He had to move out here
before he became a star.

-Yeah.
-You know, finally he got noticed.

[Kanye] I had to move out here.

-Yeah, he had to move out here.
-I was doing beats for $500.

I came into Baseline,
now I'm taxing 40, 50 a beat.

-I mean, you…
-It's insane, man.

-Yeah. Overnight, too.
-This shit better rock it.

You gonna be one of the greats. Trust me,
him and Justin are the next greats.

And what's fucked up

is that when a nigga become great,
people get hate.

That's what makes them so great
is because the hate makes you great.

-That's why they so great.
-Yeah.

-They're doing a documentary on me.
-[Just Blaze] Word?

People probably don't
even know who this is.

It's Just Blaze, most loved, most hated.

Holla at your boy.

This right here is like
my best friend/arch enemy.

[Coodie chuckles] Worst enemies.

It's like Professor X and Magneto.

If it wasn't for being
in this environment,

with motherfucking
Just Blaze in the studio,

I wouldn't be able to have
my beats as good as they are.

Because this nigga is
making three beats a day.

A lot of times Chicago mentality
is just do a little work

and just sit back and talk about
how good the work you did in the past was.

Even by me doing
this documentary right now,

it's a little narcissistic or whatever.

-But fuck it. Know what I'm saying?
-[laughter]

[Kanye] Last year, boy, that was
our breakout year for both of us.

We used to be both over at Krazy Kat, man.

Broke-as-fuck, hot-ass studio, man.

This an average night at Baseline.

Scarface and Jay-Z sittin' in the studio,
neither one had a beat,

Kanye West happened
to walk through the door.

That's what happens when
you walk through the door at Baseline.

"Guess Who's Back."

And look here, in a super, super,
small-as-fuck print right here.

[Coodie laughs]

"Additional vocals by," as most of
y'all know me, "Kanye West."

Niggas used to think my name was a typo.

And it's, like, an Ethiopian French name.

It means "the only one."

This right here,

I needed this record so bad.

I hate when niggas be fronting.
I needed this shit, yo.

'Cause I ain't had shit!

But I'm attempting to do something else.
Something with the rapping shit.

[man] Dame, can I get this flick
with you real quick?

-Yeah.
-All right.

Are y'all ready?

-Let's go.
-[speaking indistinctly]

What's happening?

It's 2:00 in the morning,
it's my birthday.

Came through, Kanye said.

Kanye's a good dude, man.

He has no bad intention towards
anything in the world.

So, that's where we be in life.

Yeah, man.

Nigga hit
the "he wouldn't kill a fly" shit.

Know what I mean?

Overall, I think he's
a very spiritual individual, very soulful,

well-guided individual. Very musical.

We're gonna sign him. He makes hot shit.

[Coodie] Dame might have said
he was gonna sign him,

but there was never a deal on the table.

It felt like he just wanted to keep Kanye
around to make beats for his artists.

But at the same time, there were other
labels that were checking for him.

[Joe] Since the camera's on…

With Kanye, man,
we're making a deal, right, baby?

-With Capitol?
-[man] Oh, shit.

Yeah, you're fucking touching.

You know they're supposed to sign.

I tried to sign him eight years ago.

[Coodie] But even though
the A&R at Capitol wanted to sign Kanye,

the heads of the label
held the power to make that decision,

and they didn't think
a producer-rapper could sell records.

Like 3H, Mos Def and Talib Kweli
thought that Kanye was next up.

So, to me,
it made perfect sense to try to get a deal

with the same label
that they were signed to, Rawkus Records.

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

♪ Guerrilla Monsoon rap ♪

♪ All the shorties like, "Who dat?" ♪

♪ Got the whole crowd like
"How ya…

♪ …true dat, nigga ♪

[Coodie] And their A&R, Ali,
saw Kanye as a great fit for their roster.

Mr. West.

Super star, what's cracking?

You're that next nigga, man,
because what you got…

You got a combination
of street, high fashion…

You got a combination,
you dig what I'm saying?

And it's a spirit.

Naturally, you're not a Roc-A-Fella nigga,
you know what I mean?

There's a certain energy that goes
and I'm not saying it's good or bad,

but it is what it is.

It's a better written record
than what Tribe was doing.

And they was doing the best shit.
To me, you got the same energy.

Where niggas are bumping
in they cars all day, all night long.

And it's street enough
to catch the hardcore niggas

it's hip-hop enough
to catch the hip-hop niggas.

You different.

Guys, I'm telling you.

[Coodie] Ali saw Kanye's potential,

but he still needed to convince
his bosses at Rawkus Records

to take a chance on him.

With no clear answers
on where he might end up,

Kanye continued to live beat to beat.

[hip-hop music playing on stereo]

I gotta stop by my assistant's crib.

He's my assistant/cousin.

To get a CD I gotta send out to DMX.

Don't hold his hairstyle
against him though, y'all.

-What's up?
-On Candid Camera?

What's going on?

-Clark Kent, the artist, man--
-Yeah.

He wants to come through.
I guess he wants a few beats.

He wants to come through
and rhyme for you and whatnot.

So I don't know
what you want to do as far as that.

I mean, far as I'm…

He wants to see
if it's possible to get these tracks,

I guess, without putting any money down.

What?

That's what it seems like.

That's impossible.

-It's impossible.
-[chuckles]

Okay.

Like, niggas be killing me
thinking they gonna rhyme for me.

-The demo shit.
-I'm not gonna share my beat.

It's like, this is the…

This is like, you go into a TV store
and you be telling a nigga,

"Dawg, I watch TV the best."

"So, motherfucker? I still sell TVs."

They won't give you a TV for free
'cause you watch TV the best.

-Like, you know what I'm saying?
-All right.

♪ All of 'em, we got us all of 'em ♪

♪ Right now come that's all of 'em ♪

♪ Man, we up on all of that ♪

[hip-hop beat playing]

If this nigga don't get this beat,
I'm grabbing this shit.

-What up, dawg? Twenty premium.
-[Al Burton] Give 'em that?

-Who, DMX?
-[Al Burton] Yeah.

-It's DMX though.
-Right.

-He got priority over me.
-How--

So is that how you look at it
when you do your tracks?

Say, if you want something for yourself…

Do you even make tracks for yourself?

[Kanye] I just have ideas.

And sometimes
I'll just write to sample ideas and shit.

I'mma start making up new beats,
like with my guitar player and my singer

that sings exactly what I want to say.

People gonna be like,
"Where did you get that sample?"

It's gonna be saying real exact shit.
It's gonna sound just like a '70s record.

[Al Burton] Okay.

That's the next level,
where I'm gonna push the game.

[Al Burton] Okay.

Damn, I shouldn't say that
in an interview.

[chuckles]

You should have.

[Kanye] Niggas gonna be like,
"Yo, I'mma do that too."

Don't worry. I won't…

I won't give out no secrets.

You've been in New York for how long?

[Kanye] For a year.

In this year's time that I come out here,

I did a lot of good things.
It's really been a blessing.

God's really opened up the gates.

I had the hustle in me so much,
it was so cooped up,

but I got the opportunity out here.

I was running, man.

I was the type of nigga,
I'd be out here broke.

One time,
I was in the studio with Lil' Kim.

I was out here broke.

I couldn't afford to get in a cab.

They told me Sean wanted me
to play some beats.

This shit was, like, 20 blocks away.

I ran to the studio,
'cause I ain't want 'em to leave

before I got a chance
to play 'em some beats.

I was hungry, man. I am hungry, dawg.

Motherfuckers always talk about,

"What I got.
This nigga, he got this, he got that."

Niggas don't realize I ain't nowhere near.

I might be living y'all American dream,

but I'm nowhere near
where my dream is, dawg.

Man, I got aspirations.
I got big dreams, motherfucker.

All this shit is remarkable to me.

So it's like the Roc and Rawkus.

That's exactly what I am.

I'm, like, definitely
the gap between both of that.

I'm just as much Roc-A-Fella
as I am Rawkus.

-You know?
-Right.

Dame Dash, man,
Dame Dash ain't no wack nigga, man.

And then Jay-Z is not just a rapper.

Jay-Z is an icon. He's a mogul.

You could be under Jay-Z
and still be big as hell.

People don't wanna be under a rapper

when they feel like
they really are a star,

which I feel like I am,

but I'mma take advantage
of my opportunities, man.

I'mma meet people.

Man, if people serious
about doing what it is I do…

It's a lot of people, man,

be asking for handouts.

It's like they point fingers.

I know people that's mad at me

'cause I wouldn't
give 'em a beat for free.

Think about it, the mentality.

Niggas got a 40 acres and a mule complex,
feel like the world owe 'em something

'cause they never had nothing.

Just go out and work for your shit.

I wasn't born
with a silver spoon in my mouth.

Motherfuckers be like,
"That nigga grew up in the suburbs."

Nigga, I stayed on 79th Street
till I was in high school, nigga,

then I moved to 119th.

And I was never in the suburbs,

I was on 87th Street,
you know what I'm saying?

I wasn't in the street
shooting motherfuckers

'cause I was determined.

I wanted to fucking make it in music.

You gonna hold that against me
'cause I ain't kill nobody?

Nigga, I'm a rapper.
I'm a motherfucking MC, dawg.

I'm a storyteller, man. I'm a songmaker.

I create it, man.

The music, dawg, is me, man.

It ain't representation or nothing else

but what I live every day, you know?

I'm a motherfucking rapper, dawg.

Like, I'm…

Man, like, I'll be out…

Before I had my car,
I used to be walking to the train,

practicing my Grammy speech.

Yo, can I use the word "fruition"
in the, um… In the article?

I forgot to use it.
That's my new word, fruition.

Some dreams coming to fruition. [chuckles]

[Al Burton] Yeah, I'll put it in there.
I got it.

[people chattering indistinctly]

[Coodie] As bad as Kanye
wanted to be in the spotlight,

the music industry
was looking for the next Jay-Z.

The next DMX.

At times, it felt like he was just
another face in the crowd.

Even though he was standing
so close to his dreams…

[indistinct chatter]

it still felt so far away.

But Kanye,
he wouldn't take no for an answer.

-[hip-hop music playing over speakers]
-[Kanye] What up?

What up, Kanye? You all right?

Five, four, three…

Right now, I hear Jay-Z's…

-"Izzo."
-"…Izzo."

We didn't even cue it like that.

Oh, my goodness!

This man right here, Kanye West.
He produced the track.

[Coodie] Kanye was interviewed on MTV
about his production.

"H to The Izz-O",
this is the song that changed my life

[Coodie] It was dope seeing him get on TV,

but I knew what he really wanted

was a feature on their show,
You Hear It First.

Because for an up-and-coming artist,

that kind of shine
could change everything.

-Kanye West.
-[Lisa] Hi. Lisa.

I like your necklace.

Uh, I'm trying to get a You Hear It First.
It's a couple people.

-Are you in touch with Sway at all?
-[indistinct chatter]

Uh, yeah. I did a couple for his artists.

Okay, cool, yeah.

Yeah, 'cause Sway, I mean,
he's got an in there at MTV News.

-Yeah.
-I could talk to some people too, man.

Yeah.

That was a nice track
you played the other day, uh…

That was you rapping on it.

I was surprised.
I was like, "Who's that?"

You're like, "That's me."
I'm like, "What?"

-Kweli said I can get up and rock tonight.
-Nice, nice.

[audience chanting] Kweli! Kweli! Kweli!
Kweli! Kweli! Kweli! Kweli! Kweli! Kweli!

[Kweli] You ready?

[rapping indistinctly]

[audience] Kweli!

[audience] Kweli!

In case y'all don't know,
he did "H to The Izz-O."

He did "Takeover."

He did "Guess Who's Back."
He did "Good to You."

He did Mos Def's album.

Give it up for my nigga Kanye West.

[audience cheering]

Yo.

Now, Kanye,
y'all also don't know my man got skills.

He's a rapper, he's on my new project.

Can we let my man bust a verse?

[audience cheering]

What's up, Kanye?

♪ Ice chain, Cardi lens, and a knapsack ♪

♪ Always said if I rapped
I'd say somethin' significant ♪

♪ But now I'm rappin', 'bout money
Hoes, and rims again ♪

♪ …Kweli, Kanye and Mos ♪

♪ Punk dudes can't rap to boast ♪

Live and in person,
we're here choking this nigga.

Scream, nigga. Put this on the Internet.

I don't like Chicago. It's cold.

-What?
-Beautiful. It's cold in Chicago.

Don't ever say you don't like the Chi.

I don't like the weather in the Chi.

Mos, you can spit a piece
of that "Two Words"?

♪ Two words, United States ♪

♪ No love, no breaks
Low brow, high stakes ♪

♪ Crack smoke, Black folks
Big Macs, fat folks ♪

♪ Ecstasy capsules
Presidential scandals, everybody move ♪

♪ Two words, Mos Def, Kanye, hot shit ♪

♪ Calm down, get back
Ghetto people got this ♪

♪ Game 'pon lock shit
Gun 'pon cock shit ♪

♪ We won't stop shit
Everybody move! ♪

♪ Two words, BK, NY, Bed-Stuy ♪

♪ Too hard, too hungry
Too many, that's why ♪

♪ These streets know game
Can't ball, don't play ♪

♪ Heavy traffic, one lane
Everybody move! ♪

♪ Two words, Mos Def, K West, hot shit ♪

♪ Calm down, get back
Ghetto people got this ♪

♪ Game 'pon lock, gun 'pon cock ♪

♪ We don't stop, Mos and the Roc ♪

♪ Two words, Chi-Town
Southside, worldwide ♪

♪ 'Cause I rep that 'til I fuckin' die ♪

♪ One neck, two chains
One waist, two Gats ♪

♪ One wall, 20 plaques
Dues paid, gimme that ♪

♪ I am limelight, Blueprint, five mics ♪

♪ Go Getters rhyme like
Should've been signed twice ♪

♪ Most imitated, Grammy nominated ♪

♪ Hotel accommodated
Cheerleader prom-dated ♪

♪ Barbershop player-hated
Mom-and-pop bootlegged it ♪

♪ Felt like it rained
'Til the roof caved in ♪

♪ Two words, Chi-Town, raised me, crazy ♪

♪ So I live by two words
"Fuck you, pay me" ♪

♪ Screaming, "Jesus, save me" ♪

♪ You know how the game be
I can't let 'em change me ♪

♪ 'Cause on Judgment Day
You gonna blame me ♪

♪ Look, God, it's the same me ♪

♪ Basically know now
We get racially profiled ♪

♪ Cuffed up and hosed down
Pimped up and ho'd down ♪

♪ Plus, I got a whole city to hold down ♪

♪ From the bottom
So the top's the only place to go now ♪

Boy!

[all chatter in awe]

[laughter]

Oh, that's… That's me and K West.

Oh, shit.

[Coodie] Despite the support
of Mos and Kweli,

the heads at Rawkus Records
ultimately decided not to sign Kanye.

You know how bad I wanted you, boy.

I wanted you over there with us.

[Coodie] With Kanye's talent,

I thought the move to New York would
make it easier for him to get a deal.

But now the only hope he had left
was back at Roc-A-Fella Records.

[Kanye] I don't know if y'all realize

how long I been spittin' or the fact
that I'm actually talking about something.

I'm not just sitting on a beat

trying to emulate
what other rappers is hot out.

But y'all gonna understand it in a minute.

[Coodie] Things started looking up again

when MTV agreed to give Kanye
that feature on You Hear It First.

[Kanye] His name is SpongeBob SquarePants.

That's his whole thing.

We live at MTV, man.

[Coodie] Not only
did they want to cover Kanye,

but the producers wanted to use
my footage for the segment.

Coodie working shit on the MTV.

[Coodie] It was the first time I realized
that my camera could help Kanye's career.

Beautiful.

I don't like Chicago. It's cold.

-[Kanye] What?
-Beautiful. It's cold in Chicago.

[Coodie] So when Chicago's
top radio station, WGCI,

invited Kanye to their music conference,

it was the perfect opportunity
to get more footage for MTV

and show the world where we come from.

[indistinct chatter]

[Coodie] Where we at?

We at the Hyatt Regency
in my hometown, um…

You know, it feels good to be home, man.

Damn! Them rooms ain't really shit, huh?

I'mma show y'all some shit, man.

Look.

They got all these different names.
They got Hip-Hop, P Diddy,

Um, Dave Mays.

♪ Y'all must have
Forgot, forgot, forgot… ♪

[laughing]

But then, this is what killed me.

It say producers, right?
They got Jermaine Dupri.

That's my dawg right there,
Steve "Silk" Hurley.

Kanye. Now, who the fuck is Kanye?

I specifically told them.

They said, "What's your stage name?
Your professional name?"

Kanye West.

Then I heard the commercial.
They was like,

"Featuring Chicago's very own Kanye."

So I call 'em, I was like, um…

"Why does it say Kanye
and not Kanye West?"

It's like if you was in Atlanta like,
"At the party, Jermaine."

[Coodie laughs]

Like… My name is Kanye West.

And they told me, it's like, um…

"Well, everybody call you Kanye."

That's when you at the crib, yo.
That's the crib.

That's how you know me at the crib.

"Nigga, you ain't Kanye West to me."

[both chuckle]

"Your name Kanye, your name Ye."
This should've been like, "Ye."

[chuckles]

"Chicago's very own Ye."

They don't even recognize me.

"Nigga, you came
from the fucking crib and…"

I'm just complaining
in the midst of some good shit.

It's a good thing that I'm at the GCI
seminar and I'm finally on the panel.

I used to sneak into the panels…

This is the most beautiful
city in the world right here.

I mean, niggas don't even know
how I wish I could've just…

stayed here my entire life and somehow…

Somehow made something happen,
you know what I'm saying?

I been trying to produce
since 7th grade, dawg.

You know what I'm saying,
I put my time in.

This my, um, MTV You Hear It First.

Big Coodie.

What's up, y'all?

I used to do my own fades and shit.

[indistinct chatter]

[host] And that is something
you can't beat.

I feel like we're merchants.

And the aspiration to do your own art,

expound on your own was something
we didn't have. We have it now.

Our chokehold on American culture
should allow us to move everywhere.

[applause]

[indistinct chatter]

[woman] How are you doing?

Go Getters coming through.

It's Kanye West, y'all.

This is the hottest new producer.

Did, uh, half of Jay-Z's album,
like five joints on The Blueprint.

[laughing]

Much love to my man.

[speaking indistinctly]

My man Kanye West's documentary
doing the damn thing,

opening up for Chicago producers.
Letting niggas know.

I wouldn't be where I'm at
if it weren't for these people.

I might have to pay a little money.

[laughter]

Now, Dug…

[Dug] Now let me share my love…

We got to share the story.
I had to save them for last though.

-[Coodie] Go over there, Ye.
-Um…

Hold on.

We gonna bring it back
to when I used to come over to Jay-Chill.

-Back when I was 14 years old.
-[Dug] Thirteen.

Oh, shit.

Your mom was my English teacher
at Chicago State. Donda West.

-Big up.
-[laughs]

She told me she got her son
some equipment

and he needed to be in the mix.

That's how it went.

You got to be around some good people.
Who was you around?

We was around, um…

Um…

Man, you know we ain't had
no bunch of rappers in Chicago.

We were around a bunch of niggas
that were finna get signed…

-They still finna get signed!
-[laughter]

-I'm one of 'em.
-[laughter]

I own the joint and I'm one of 'em.

I'm Dug Infinite.

My man Kanye West documentary,

got a lot of love for him,
one of the best producers in Chicago.

I've been knowing him
since he 13, doing his thing.

He opened it up. He opened it up.

We're gonna make some good records
and we're gonna have some fun.

No matter what happens after this date
and no matter what's said after this date,

you see the root of everything
we're doing here

is based and founded on
business and love.

So believe that, all the time.

[Coodie] Home is where
you learn how to love.

Early on, it was Dug Infinite

and one of Chicago's
most recognized producers, No ID,

who taught Kanye how to make beats.

No ID,

he got the beats. He got the phat tracks.

Dug Infinite, working on something.

I'm chilling out in Chi-Town.

[Coodie] But as I watched Kanye blow up,

we both soon learned that that love
can sometimes turn into hate.

[Teefa on radio]
You on the B-side with Teefa.

We just had a… [sighs] historic moment…

[Kanye] Turn it up.

[Teefa] Dug, man.

We want to clear some things.
We want to know who that was directed to.

[Dug] Kanye came up with us,
and I was responding to an article in XXL.

I didn't like some things he said.

I felt it was disrespectful to me,

and I made a record to tell the truth.
I want people to know the truth.

[Teefa] Family got to keep it real
with family sometimes.

And Kanye might be through
to speak on what he want to speak on.

[man] Uh-oh.

-[Teefa] GCI.
-[cell phone ringing]

Dawg.

Why nigga's got a diss record
on me already? What the fuck?

Dug Infinite!

One of the niggas that taught me
how to make beats.

I saw him today.

The nigga's talking on the documentary,

-"Yeah, I came up with the nigga…"
-[line beeping]

I be talking to the nigga all the time.
Hold on one second.

Now he gotta song talk about…

Niggas only fuckin' with me
'cause Jay-Z rapping on my beats.

Like my beats wasn't cold before.

They in the studio right now.

Two blocks away from where you at.

-That's them niggas there.
-[man 1] Y'all want to confront 'em?

[indistinct chatter]

-[man 2] This is hip-hop, man.
-[man 3] It come with the territory.

[man 2] This won't be easy.

When you say certain shit,
you held accountable for it, man.

If I say something out my mouth,

niggas gonna hold me accountable
on the block.

I said that "Dug Infinite
put me on" in a magazine

and they didn't print it.

And you make a song dissing me
because XXL didn't print it?

And I told you?

The magazine you said
No ID helped you with your style, man.

You know I was there.

Nigga, I told the magazine.

I don't want to be x-ed out
of the history or the city.

Dawg, you was history in this city, man.

And I felt like for years,
man, I always took your side.

When No ID was being funny with you,
when niggas was not talking to you.

-I always--
-You need a hug, man.

-I always went--
-You need a hug. [laughs]

Nigga need a hug.
You need a hug too, Coodie, man?

-[cell phone rings]
-Hello.

-Yo.
-[indistinct chatter]

No, I know them niggas.
It ain't like on the streets.

No street shit, man. I said that.

-Nah, dawg.
-I'm real.

I ain't on that, dawg.

[Dug] I ain't gonna cut you, man.

You in a position, man.

You know what I'm saying?
Let me… Let me…

King of the hill. When you on top,
everybody wanna knock you down.

Or get up there with you.

[man] Ain't about to run up on a nigga.
I ain't talkin'.

Not me.

That's the love, start with the game.

We just got through talking about this
in his living room in Jersey.

Like, dawg, it finna come.

[JB] Get ready.

[Coodie] With all the rejection
Kanye went through in New York,

it was crazy to come home and see him
get dissed in front of the whole city.

Especially by somebody he looked up to.

[indistinct chatter]

Every time I get out,
they drag me back in.

[laughter]

[Coodie] In spite of it all,

Kanye had the chance
to tell his side of the story.

Go ahead.

Here we go.

[hip hop music playing on speakers]

Come down to this mic.

I see you peeved, man.

You on my bad side, Coodie, man.
Come over here, man.

1075, WGCI,
number one for hip-hop and R&B.

You on the B-side with your girl Teefa.

I got my man Kanye West
in the studio right now.

Say "what's up" to the people.

What up? What up, Chi-Town?

Me and Just,

as far as on the beats,

we the producers that everybody
try to mimic or copy.

And what's so crazy about that
is I originally got that style…

I went over to No ID's crib
when I was like… 14.

He was like,
"You could sample records sped up."

He did that for Common Sense's
first album, so it was a Chicago style.

Then when No ID thought
I was too much of a pest,

I end up going over Dug Infinite crib.

[Teefa chuckles]

You know what I'm saying?

He end up showing me
how to make beats.

Everything that you hear,

it comes with the turf,
with the territory.

It's, uh… It's like…

I'm not gonna touch on that that much,

but I'mma tell Chi-Town like this.

Me and Dug is a lot closer
than what y'all think.

So if y'all looking at the record,
that's just a record.

I feel like I'm just breaking down
the barriers for everybody.

I'm up here still doing beats for dudes
that I knew since I was, like,

sixteen years old and 15 years old.

At the end of the day, man,

I don't owe nobody nothing
except for my mother, you know?

Well, you definitely clarifyin'.

-What's been floatin' around.
-It's a lot I gotta clarify.

Y'all got me wrapping up, man?

How you gonna wrap me up, dawg?
You can't wrap me up.

-[Teefa] We'll come back to you.
-[Kanye chuckling]

[Teefa] Check it out, we gonna get you
a chance to clarify…

[Coodie] After the love Kanye
got at the seminar,

we never thought the trip
would take the turn it did.

Leaving the station,
I thought he handled it well.

But still, I knew it had to hurt.

[knocking on door]

[Donda] Kanye?

Yeah, Mom. There's company with me too.

Why you don't start bringing
your key with you home?

[Kanye] I forgot it.

-[Kanye] How you been?
-[Donda] Okay, how you doing?

Yeah.

It's cold in here.

You all cold?

Well, no--

Welcome, I mean.

Um, what's your name?

-Coodie.
-Coodie?

Oh, okay. I'm Donda. What's your--

-[JB] I've met you before.
-Yeah. [chuckles]

-This is my mom.
-Yeah.

Kanye, you look good.
Oh, I haven't seen this.

This is really… Now, Kanye, I like this.

-You like it?
-This is nice!

Ooh.

Oh, I really like this, Kanye.

Look, y'all.

Now this is a true
bachelorette pad right here.

This is reduced fat milk, man.

Got the Zinfandel, White Zinfandel.

[Donda] Oh, don't film
in the refrigerator,

ain't nothing in it.

Kanye, that's really…
I'm so glad you got that one.

Because when I was in New York
you know what I was thinking?

It was like, "Oh, Kanye, you went
and got another piece of jewelry."

"You haven't even bought a house."

-This is worth not getting a house?
-Yeah.

[both laughing]

There'll be houses out there.
This is nice.

[JB laughing] There'll be houses…

Isn't it?

-That is nice. That is beautiful.
-[JB] Very unique.

And you know what? You need an angel
to watch over you, so it's all good.

[chuckles]

You the man.

We ain't always used to have this view.

[Donda] No, no.

[Kanye] It wasn't like this on 79th.

When I was three years old.

[Donda] I like the way you, uh, explained
everything about how long

it takes people to…
What was that, like, uh…

Jay-Z to write a rap.
And Scarface too, wasn't it?

Yeah, and how they do.

All Jay does is basically
record songs in five minutes,

and then he makes rappers
come to the studio

and just play the songs and is like,
"Look what I did this week."

-Eighteen songs."
-All of his songs?

Yeah, he'll play his songs over and over,
loud, like ear-piercing volumes.

Then he started going in the other room.
I said, "Yo, hold."

I gotta play you one more beat."

And the way it was, it was awkward.

If I played him a wack beat at this time,

it would have been too awkward.

'Cause he was like…
this is the last song he gonna play.

Like, "Dawg, I'll play you one more beat."

So I put it on.

He start bobbing his head.

Then he looked over, he tapped me.

[imitating Jay-Z] ♪ H to the izz-O ♪

♪ V to the izz-A ♪

♪ For shizzle, my nizzle
Used to dribble down in VA ♪

-[vocalizing]
-[Donda laughs]

That's what he said? He knew-- [laughing]

He knew he had a hit right then.

He got up.

Ooh!

"Ooh, that's it!"

-"That's why you get the big bucks."
-[JB] Right.

We had to figure out what to say
in between, so it's…

♪ "For shizzle, my nizzle ♪

[mumbles] ♪ Used to dribble down in VA" ♪

And then he said…

♪ "H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A" ♪

He looked at me and said…

♪ "That's the anthem.
Get your damn hands up!" ♪

I was like…

"Mom, we about to blow up.
We finna blow up."

You know the one I used to
always try to get you to do.

-You never did it. What's that?
-What?

♪ I walked through
The halls of the school ♪

♪ And it's cool to be known by many
For my rapping ability ♪

♪ But what about the brothers
Who ain't got it like me? ♪

♪ Making money off the trade
You could say they got it made ♪

♪ Drugs are on the rise
But it's not a big surprise ♪

-♪ See something-- ♪
-♪ See no soul… ♪

♪ In the young brother's eyes ♪

♪ Something on the streets
But the streets are kinda hard ♪

♪ Something, something, something
If you want it ♪

Something about reward, remember?

I rhymed "hard" with "reward"?

-Yeah.
-That's a good rhyme.

You did. I said, "Keep on going.
It's a million dollars."

Everything you'd do,
I'd say, "That's a million dollars."

Yeah, and we still haven't made a million.

[laughs]

I like this… But you could…

But that first line was really good.

♪ I walked through
The halls of the school ♪

♪ And it's cool to be known by many
For my rapping ability ♪

♪ But what about the brothers
Who ain't got it like me ♪

♪ Making money off the trade
You could say I had it made ♪

♪ Drugs are on the rise
And it's not a big surprise ♪

♪ You see no soul
In a young brother's eyes ♪

Um…

♪ Trying to talk about the streets
But the streets are kinda hard ♪

♪ But here's another fact
That I can't disregard ♪

♪ Black on Black
Is a stab to my back ♪

♪ It really hurts my soul
When I hear about that ♪

Uh… Ahh!

-I forget the…
-Once I had the words too.

But now, you not walking down the halls.

[chuckles] You talking
about College Dropout.

I don't know
if that's going to be the title.

I told you that they doing
a You Hear It First

on me on MTV, right?

You told me you were gonna try.

-They said they doing it.
-They are?

They're gonna use this footage.

All right. That's good, Kanye.

This is so exciting hearing it. I love it.

Yeah, can you believe it?

I can believe it, the way you are.

Somebody gotta agree.

You play tracks
like Michael Jordan shoots free throws.

Anybody that does something that much
and that long and is that good…

It's gotta pay off.

You can't go over there
and do nothing but blow up.

-Yeah. Yeah.
-Isn't that so?

The main thing is you gotta do something
that you really love to do.

I was thinking about something

I was gonna say to you
that I thought was important.

How you were down-to-earth and everything,
but you have a lot of confidence

that come off a little arrogant
even though you're humble,

but it be important to remember that

the giant looks in the mirror
and sees nothing.

[both chuckle]

You know what I mean?

So you think I come off too arrogant?

No. Come off just right
'cause of what's inside

because you can't be a star
and not be a star.

You've got to have some oomph about you.

Don't wanna just go say,

"Oh, I'm just really not all that,
but thank you anyway."

Nothing like that.
I'm not saying come off like that.

I think the way you are,
handle yourself, is really just…

Perfect.

But at the same time that you remember…

Like, to stay on the ground,

you could be in the air at the same time.

That's what I think it means
when it says,

"The giant looks in the mirror
and sees nothing."

Everybody else sees the giant, you know?

-Right.
-Mm-hmm.

I know… I feel like…

[Coodie] Kanye bringing us
to his mom's house,

that felt like the real reason
we came to Chicago.

She had this special way
of lifting his spirit,

of giving him the love
and guidance he needed.

It was easy to see the confidence
Kanye had in himself…

was because of the confidence
Donda had in him.

She even made me feel like family.

-[Kanye] Toast the cameraman.
-Toast. All right.

Salud.

[Coodie] We went back
to New York inspired.

And Kanye,

he was more determined than ever
to lock down that deal with Roc-A-Fella.

Hook me up
with a little something back there.

[man exclaiming over speakers]

♪ …all the soldiers ♪

♪ All of God's soldiers ♪

[men vocalizing over speakers]

♪ We at war ♪

[woman] This is Kanye, right?
This you, right?

He got the second verse on it.

[beat playing]

[woman] I like this.

♪ But most of all
We at war with ourselves ♪

♪ Jesus, walk ♪

♪ God show me the way
Because the Devil's tryna break me down ♪

♪ Jesus, walk with me ♪

♪ The only thing that I pray
Is that my feet don't fail me now ♪

♪ Jesus, walk ♪

♪ And I don't think… ♪

[Coodie] Back in Jersey, Rhymefest,
an artist out of Chicago,

was collaborating with Kanye
on a song called "Jesus Walks."

♪ You know what the Midwest is?
Young and restless ♪

♪ Where coppin' that work
Is your best investment ♪

♪ I walk through the valley
Of Chi where death is ♪

♪ Top floor the view alone
Will leave you breathless ♪

[Coodie] I remember thinking I never heard
a rap song like this before in my life.

And Kanye thought, if he could get
a legendary rapper like Scarface

to do the hook on it,

that can help seal the deal
with Roc-A-Fella.

Don't step out front of that car.

-[man 1] I'll be right back.
-Aight.

-All right, G.
-[man 2] Is this The Making of Kanye?

[Kanye] They got a You Hear It First
on me on MTV.

-[Scarface] They got who?
-You Hear It First on MTV.

For you?

That goddamn Kanye be
pulling rabbits out the hat, man.

That beat right there?
That song right there? Man.

What's going on now?

Chi Town. Chi Town.

[Kanye] Thank you for coming through.
I know you were busy.

-[Scarface] Huh?
-[Kanye] I know you was busy.

-Appreciate you coming and grabbing me.
-For sure.

["Jesus Walks" playing]

♪ Jesus, walk ♪

♪ Jesus walks with me ♪

Find something else.

Can you stop it real quick?

-That's hard, man.
-[music stops]

-But you can do that chorus though?
-Yeah, I can--

That's a hard one for me.

Let me try to get a hands-free.

[sample plays and stops]

Try that one.

This song right here
called "Family Business."

["Family Business" playing]

-♪ How's your son? ♪
-♪ All the things ♪

Wait, you got a rhyme on this already?

I wanna hear you rhyme.

♪ Let's go ♪

The concept of the song
is "Family Business."

So, you got…

♪ Yo ♪

♪ This is family business ♪

♪ And this is for the family
That can't be with us ♪

♪ And this is for my cousin locked down
Know the answer's in us ♪

♪ This why I spit it in my songs
So sweet like a photo ♪

♪ Of your granny's picture
Now that you're gone, it hit us ♪

♪ Super hard on Thanksgiving and Christmas
This can't be right ♪

♪ Yeah, you heard the track I did, man
"This Can't Be Life" ♪

♪ Somebody please say grace
So I can save face ♪

♪ And have a reason to cover my face ♪

♪ I even made you a plate, soul food
Know how Granny do it ♪

♪ Monkey bread on the side
Know how the family do it ♪

♪ When I brought it why the guard
Have to look through it? ♪

♪ As kids, we used to laugh
Who knew that life would move this fast? ♪

♪ Who knew I'd look at you
Through a glass? ♪

♪ And look, tell me you ain't did it
Then you ain't did it ♪

♪ And if you did
Then that's family business ♪

♪ And I don't care 'bout
All the diamond rings ♪

Incredible.
You got all three verses on that?

I only got one verse.

♪ I tell you
That all is my weight in gold ♪

Go to the next one.

I like "Family Business."
This came out good.

[music stops]

Man, what the fuck is this right here?

Um, my retainers.

Man, that shit don't go out there, man.

That shit been all in your mouth and shit.

["Family Business" playing]

♪ Aight, they said he wasn't tall enough ♪

♪ All that glitters is not gold ♪

♪ All that glitters is not gold ♪

[music stops]

Them the only two I got on there,
"Jesus Walks" and this.

Yeah, that was the shit, man.

♪ Family business
This is for the family that… ♪

[Scarface] Yeah, that shit is mean.

[Kanye] Which joints
you want me to put on a CD?

It don't matter.

[Coodie] Even though Scarface
never made it back to record,

getting validation
from one of the best rappers alive

was more encouragement for Kanye
to keep moving forward.

That's some dope-ass footage.

When we spin "Family Business" for 'Face,
that nigga say, "Incredible."

[continues indistinctly]

[Coodie] And with MTV ready to do
his interview for You Hear It First,

we knew that kind of publicity
could get everybody talking.

[indistinct chatter]

♪ For shizzle, my nizzle ♪

I look big on TV.

[laughter]

Okay.

America, y'all had to see me.

Gonna have to get used to this face.

Ain't that what everybody say?
Delete that.

"Get used to me,"

and you don't see him next year.

[interviewer] Do you feel like
you being from Chicago,

is that like, do you think
that's to your advantage?

There's very few MCs
coming out of Chicago.

Man, I feel like

coming from Chicago
is definitely an advantage.

I feel like everything

that anybody ever said in life
would be a disadvantage to me,

I'mma make it my advantage.

When I was playing basketball,
everybody said I was too short.

I'm killing 'em with the scoops.

Everybody say, "You can't rap
'cause you a producer."

Okay.

"Oh, I ain't hear that beat."
"Yeah, I produced it."

[chuckling] I rapped on it
before you got a chance to hear it.

Like, I'mma use everything
that everybody says that I can't do,

and I'mma flip it to the positive.

Like, I look at everything
as a glass half-full than half-empty.

I'mma stand for everything
I seen in my life,

and I'mma try to express that
to y'all the best I can.

And I feel like I'm creative enough

that I'mma make it work, you know?

I know nobody has ever
stood up and said, "Yo, man,

let me actually show you
that there's more than one side to me."

I don't know if I really believe
in that Gemini stuff,

and the constellations and all that.

Like, I really believe in God, like…

But I know that there's more
than one side to me.

I know on one end,

when I get a check-in,
sometimes I'm like,

"Yo, man, I'm finna go and get this

chain off layaway from Jacob's right now."

I know that I'll go to church
with my grandparents

and really try to hear what the Word is,

or what they trying to tell me
or really try to understand

about religion or what do I want to pick,
so I'm confused as a Black man.

A lot of times, artists come into
the aspect that they not confused

about who they are,
and you always hear about,

"Man, I loved the album,
but she a hypocrite or he's a hypocrite."

Well, I guess that's like
anti-hip-hop, right?

Because hip-hop was always
about frontin', always acting like…

I feel like
that's the Black mentality because

since we ain't had nothing,
then we get a little something,

we've got to show it to prove something.

It's like the concept of
walking in the store,

you look like a shoplifter
unless you got something on.

You feel like you gotta wear jewelry
to get the same service.

I say in a rap, "Getting green
make you almost white."

I feel like my album,

the perspective that I'mma speak from,

I feel like I'mma bridge the gap.

I'mma be one that helps
bridge the gap with hip-hop.

I'm trying to get where I could drop
my last name off my name, you know?

Seriously. Like…

I don't wanna jinx myself,
but I'mma take this opportunity.

Like, I got some songs,
I got some stuff in my heart

that the world need to hear.

If I do what I'm supposed to do,
people gonna look back like, "Man…"

"Dude, remember, you used to
just make beats for people?"

[Coodie] Ever since I moved to New York,

the thing that struck me most about Kanye
was how much he believed in himself.

He fought every day
to get others to believe, too.

And now, with You Hear It First,

it felt like the world
was gonna have to listen.

I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed
by this whole shit.

Even just standing here.

[indistinct chatter]

[Coodie] They don't know.

I bet you he don't know me either then.

They all listen to Flex.

They're gonna do a You Hear It First
on your boy, wack-ass me.

♪ Can't rap-ass me
So stick to track-ass me ♪

♪ The niggas want a hundred now
Don't ask me ♪

-You know what I'm saying?
-[both chuckle]

[Coodie] Kanye, you in one of
those magazines they selling?

That XXL you in, I think!

[Kanye] Ooh.

[indistinct chatter]

I'mma let a secret about me, dawg.

I'm, um…

I got a little addiction, man.

You might have to cut this off.

[speaks indistinctly]

Let me get that Black Tail, right there.

-Eight dollars, man.
-How much?

-Eight dollars.
-Eight dollars? God damn, bro!

That right there?

[all laughing]

When I came out here,
I came to Newark,

I hadn't even seen
my apartment or nothing.

I just knew I had to be
where niggas was making it happen.

See that? You got to get the act
to look good.

You gotta have
the dramatic music for that.

[dramatic music plays]

[Coodie] I'll never forget the night

when Kanye told me he got the call
that was going to change his life.

Because of his drive, his persistence,

Dame Dash was finally ready
to make his record deal official.

[indistinct chatter]

I can't believe I got
a fucking deal though.

That we even sitting here right now.

[Coodie] Ain't gonna
be like this next month.

We ain't gonna be sittin' here
like this next month.

That shit is fucking amazing.

[Coodie] Coming from Chicago,

we knew that nothing in life
was given to you.

You can get in where you fit in,
or you can make room.

After all this hard work,

it felt like our stars were finally
beginning to align.

-It's a good day.
-Beautiful day.

-So, I'm Allison.
-[woman speaking indistinctly]

-Nice to meet you.
-[man speaking indistinctly]

Good to meet you.

-[JB] JB.
-Hey. Nice to meet ya.

-The man with the camera.
-Coodie.

-And I'm Kanye, good to meet you.
-Good to meet you.

You read everything? You understand it?

And you agree to be bound
by the terms of the agreement?

Sign there.

[continues indistinctly]

[applause]

[Kanye] Man, dawg.
This is a beautiful thing right now.

Man, I see a lot of people
in this room, like,

that I couldn't have made it
to this point without.

And, uh, I just signed
with Roc-A-Fella Records as an artist.

And Dame said
the joint coming out this year,

and my first single got Mos Def,
Freeway and Harlem Boys Choir on it.

[applause and cheering]

[Coodie] Kanye was now officially
a part of the Roc-A-Fella family.

And with Jay-Z and The Dynasty
tour heading to Chicago,

we knew we had to be there.

[Kanye] I signed with Roc-A-Fella Records.

-[woman] Huh?
-I just signed with Roc-A-Fella.

You ever heard of Roc-A-Fella?

With Damon Dash?

Yeah.

-You know Dame Dash? You know Dame Dash?
-Huh?

Me and my crew,
we just got finished making a movie.

[man] Pray you got all of that.

-Yeah.
-[woman] 'Bout two weeks ago.

This look like Coodie.

Everybody,
this look like Coodie, look.

Damn, that is him.

-That is Coodie.
-Look at you.

[woman] Let me see it.

Better get something to eat, please.

[laughing]

Yeah, I do like…

[indistinct chatter]

[man] Go again.

♪ H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A ♪

[vocalizing]

Something like that. [laughing]

Okay.

Yeah, I do like that.

-Scoot your feet, like he, uh…
-[JB] You should be in the video.

That was Jay-Z and the other stuff.

You know, that video already made.

You know, it's old.
We workin' on a new video.

What's the new video?

It's yours, it's Kanye West's video.

-Okay.
-Okay, can I get some change?

Come see it.
Give me something to eat.

God bless you, baby.
Thank you. For real.

Yeah, okay. For real. Yeah.

-[Coodie] Hey.
-Hey!

-How you doin'? [chuckles]
-[Coodie] I'm all right.

-Kinda chilly out here today.
-Oh, yeah, Windy City.

Yeah.

[Coodie] Mama West said

you could stay on the ground
and be in the air all at the same time.

Maybe that's why she took us back
to where everything started.

Boy, this brings back some memories.

It's crazy. We must've been so little.

We used to play football right here.

We'd throw the ball up
and whoever get the ball,

you tried your best to kill him. [laughs]

I'll show you the bounds
that kill a man.

You ain't wanna hit this right here…

or this right here.

Well, I've definitely cracked
my head on it a couple of times.

It's crazy how different it looks
'cause it looks…

It seemed so much bigger than me

when I used to picture it, you know?

This right here is, um…

It used to have that mirror and I used to
just practice, like, in front of it.

Just doing whatever I wanted to do.

Yo, our dog, we called him Genius
'cause he could get out of anything.

We built a pen back there,
but he used to figure how to get out.

You couldn't just leave him in the pen.

You gotta pen him up,
put a chain around him.

-[Donda] Yeah.
-He's so smart.

Everybody in our family was smart,
even the dog.

[chuckles] That's right.

So you got a bedroom in here?

Yeah, this is your bedroom.

Yeah, I could almost… I think I could
touch both of the walls with my hand.

[both chuckling]

[both continue speaking indistinctly]

Do I got some lint on my hair?

What? Where?

Oh, yeah, right here.

[Coodie] How was Kanye coming up?

You know, Kanye was always
self-absorbed in a way.

You went to kindergarten from here.

They picked you up
right across the street.

And I came to kindergarten one day,
and you looked out in the hall and saw me,

and you were on the top
of the sliding board, and you said,

"I don't need you!"

[chuckling] Do you remember that?

You did, Kanye.

You were on every talent show, remember?

Every talent show, and Kanye
would win all the talent shows.

But that's why you was so disappointed
when you didn't win that year.

You got second place
doing a Stevie Wonder.

-I got no place doing a Steve Wonder.
-You did!

-Yeah.
-You practiced.

♪ No New Year's Day ♪

Yeah, and the thing was, I just…

Yo, how you gonna do Stevie Wonder
at a talent show?

You know, Stevie Wonder
only sits at the keyboard.

So how you gonna lip sync Stevie Wonder?

That mean for three minutes,
I'm up there like…

[vocalizing]

I thought it was good.

♪ I just called to say ♪

♪ I love you ♪

That was good. You even had the braids.

-I had… It was about…
-And some sunglasses.

-[laughing]
-I was just about to…

I was just about to stand up.
You know how Stevie stand up and…

♪ Mm, mm, to say… ♪

[both laughing]

I was about to stand up,

and right when I was about to stand up,
they closed the curtains on me.

It got to a point where
I knew I was gonna get first place.

I had to help other people
with they stuff.

-That's right.
-That's the way it seem right now.

Like, I know my album
is going to be right.

Now I got to help other people
with they albums.

That's good, Kanye.

Did you think of a name for it yet?

I should call it, uh…

I'mma be straight.
I don't know what I'mma call it.

It's all good.

Mom, that term is so old.

Well, you said, "I'm good."

-I'm good, yeah.
-[chuckling]

-I'm good.
-Right.

I don't know. I just wanna say,
like, I appreciate…

I would like to congratulate you
on the good job you did with me.

[Donda] I might take a bit of credit.

[Kanye] Yeah, it's good.
You get, Mom, a little bit of credit.

Most of the…
You see, I raised myself, basically.

Oh, well, Kanye!

That's how we…
That's how we moved away from here, Kanye.

-Do you remember?
-I think I was ten.

[indistinct]

Every day, I set up a ramp right there.

[Coodie] That day, when Donda
took us to their old house,

I saw first-hand the strong foundation
she built while raising Kanye.

How much she sacrificed
to provide for him.

And now, he was living out his dreams.

Seeing how Kanye came up

got me reflecting on my own life.

So before the concert,
I went back to where my journey started.

[indistinct chatter]

[woman] I see him.

[Coodie] Like Donda,

my parents influenced me in so many ways
that I was just beginning to see.

[video camera beeps]

I'll never forget when my father
came home with a VHS camera.

[woman] Can you see it good?
Do you need light?

[Coodie] How my mother filmed the birth
of all my nieces and nephews.

[indistinct chatter]

When I look back,

at all the signs…

That is a cut though. Happy Birthday, Ma!

We outta here. Peace.

…there was no doubt.

This was always my purpose.

[indistinct chatter]

[Coodie] I might have left home
to document Kanye…

[Coodie] I'm just getting some shots
of Daddy playing his game.

Oh, really?

[sighs]

…but home is where I learned
the power of capturing timeless moments…

like these.

[indistinct chatter]

You have to be fresh on this, nigga

Your own kind of fresh.

[man 1] He got the Canada.

The Canada track, huh?

This is Kanye West.

[grand orchestral music playing]

[indistinct chatter]

[Pharrell] What up?

-What up with you?
-You all right?

What up, dawg?
I'm Kanye West, man.

Yo, dope track.

Yo, bro. Say something
to my documentary right here.

-Yo, nigga--
-One of the sickest niggas…

One of the sickest niggas
that do what he do. Ridiculous.

[Coodie] Okay. Mm-hmm.

[man 2] Hey, Kanye.

[Coodie] I'll see ya.

Here you go.

[man speaking indistinctly]

[man 3] Kanye bringing the swag.
You gotta step it up.

[indistinct chatter]

[audience cheering]

[rapping indistinctly]

[audience repeats rap]

How many people here tonight
got that Blueprint album?

[cheering]

♪ "More money, more problems
Better believe it," he said ♪

♪ "Careful what you wish for
You might receive it," he said ♪

♪ "I see," I said, "Jealousy," I said ♪

♪ "Got the whole industry mad at me,"
I said ♪

-[audience cheering]
-[imperceptible]

Oh, come on,
shout-out to the rest of the family.

Watch out.

[audience cheering]

Uh-oh.

Kanye.

Got some big news for Chi.
You want to tell them?

[audience cheering]

You tell 'em.

Aight.

I want y'all niggas to know that I'm the
newest member of the Roc-A-Fella team.

[audience cheering]

[man] Uh-oh.

Oh, shit.

All the Chicago niggas,
I'm putting it down for y'all niggas.

We're gonna be up here in a minute.

Come on, y'all.
Give it up for y'all niggas.

Kanye did it, from Chicago, motherfuckers.

[cheering fades]

[Coodie] People used to always ask me,

why would I stop everything
to start filming Kanye?

Well, watching his dreams
become reality showed me,

it showed everyone,

that when you move in faith,
all things are possible.

And to think, this was just the beginning.

[Kanye] You'll be one of the greats.

Trust, nigga. Next greats.

Ye West. Hot.

-[tires screech]
-[crashing]

[Donda] You need an angel
to watch over you…

♪ It feel like God wrote this ♪

♪ I'm just here to quote this ♪

I live and I breathe this shit.

[reporter 1] Kanye West was injured.

[reporter 2] I'm interested in
why you believe all this is happening.

[reporter 1] He was involved
in a car accident

that left him with a fractured jaw.

[ambulance siren wailing]

[Kanye] It was like God saying,
"I'm about to hand you the world."

"Just know, at any time,
I could take it away from you."

[seat belt clicks]

[somber music playing]

Hi, I'm Gideon Yago with MTV News,

and a little showcase we like to call,
drumroll please, You Hear It First.

Our look at an up-and-coming artist
you'll be hearing more from in the future.

Is there room for a self-proclaimed
backpack rapper

in Roc-A-Fella's Bentley hit parade?
Meet Kanye West.