Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (2022): Season 1, Episode 3 - Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (Act 3) - full transcript

[Kanye] ♪ And that's a lot to say
For a college dropout ♪

♪ But y'all need to slow down ♪

♪ Kanye to the represent in Chi-Town ♪

♪ I drove to New York
With ten dollars to my name ♪

♪ And brought back
A couple platinum plaques on the plane ♪

♪ And brought back that soul shit
That changed the game ♪

♪ And had a little beef I had to aim
The stainless steel ♪

♪ Got lyrics in my heart
I can't restrain, they real ♪

♪ Man, I swear to God
I wish I had a dollar bill ♪

♪ For every time a nigga told me
Stick to the beats ♪

♪ I could have ate at Mr. Chow's
At least six times a week ♪



♪ I coulda killed y'all niggas
On that lyrical shit ♪

♪ Mayonnaise-colored Benz
I push Miracle Whips ♪

♪ Whoo!
We go to Jacob with 25 thou ♪

-♪ You go with 25 hundred ♪
-♪ Wow! ♪

♪ I got 11 plaques on my walls right now ♪

♪ You got your first gold single ♪

-♪ Damn, nigga ♪
-♪ Wow! ♪

♪ There won't be
No hateration allowed ♪

♪ When I first heard Mary say that
I said… ♪

♪ Wow! ♪

♪ I just bought my mom
A new car and a house ♪

♪ And that's a lot to say
For a college dropout ♪

-[Kanye] Y'all were into movie shit.
-[man] Fuck off.

They doing a documentary on me.



-No way.
-Yeah.

-[man] Wow.
-[Kanye] Wow.

-[Coodie chuckles] Wow!
-[man chuckles]

[Chike] Rhymefest right there.

And also, I got Coodie on the camera.

Me and, um, Fest got into
an argument in the car.

I feel like he disrespected me, man.

Tried to say I wasn't a genius yet.

[Rhymefest] You ain't a genius yet, man.

It take time, man.

Genius is developed through experience
and through hardship, man.

[man] How do you know what genius is?

[Rhymefest] 'Cause I saw it.

We was in the studio with Jay-Z.

I saw genius for the first time
in my life,

and that's what I was saying to you.

I thought you was a genius until
I saw Jay-Z make a rap in five minutes,

then I was like, "Maybe Kanye's brilliant,
but Jay-Z is a genius."

You shouldn't say
that it's not genius because

look at the hundred thousand
different things I'm ready to do.

-Okay.
-Yeah. I'm focused on that.

But who are you to call yourself a genius?

It's for other people to look at you
and say, "That man's a genius."

To feel disrespected 'cause
somebody don't think you're something,

you gotta get yourself together, man.
I mean, genius,

-you know what I'm sayin'? A genius work.
-No, no, no. Hold on.

I just felt like that was real funny
for me to be like,

for me to even get offended by you
not calling me a genius.

Like, how arrogant is that?

[Rhymefest] Hey, play that "Jesus Walks."

[Kanye] That "Jesus Walks" track.

[imperceptible]

-[indistinct chatter]
-[music playing]

[Kanye] Mom, we about to blow up.
We finna blow up.

[audience cheering]

Love you, Daddy.

[man] Love you too.

[raps indistinctly]

[imperceptible]

[Coodie] All walks of faith

start with an awakening.

Check one, two.
What's up y'all? This is Coodie.

You know, "Spaceship" video shoot.
Kanye West directing.

It's gonna be hot.

Aight? Holla back.

[Coodie] After Kanye won three Grammys
for The College Dropout,

we were all excited
to see what the future held.

-[man 1] What up, Coodie?
-[Coodie] What up?

[man 2] How you feel?

-Chilling, man.
-[Coodie] What up?

[Coodi] I wasn't
filming him day-to-day anymore,

but I would still show up with my camera
and lend my support when I could.

Hey, did Plain Pat hit you about, uh,
coming to these Jon Brion sessions?

[Coodie] Kanye had started working on
his sophomore album Late Registration.

Just the tiniest bit less vibrato,
but in that sort of quiet range.

♪ Away ♪

Great. Great.

-[music playing over speakers]
-It's like real production, right?

[Coodie] And now that I had
all the footage I needed,

I thought it would be a good time
for me to finally start

putting the documentary together.

-[Donda] What's up?
-[Kanye] We can go upstairs right now.

[Coodie] But I guess things change
when you get famous.

Because Kanye said he wasn't ready
for the world to see the real him.

Drop that shit.

[audience cheering]

[Coodie] He told me he was acting now.

Playing a role.

And now that the media wanted
to put their cameras on him…

[man] And three, two, one.

[audience cheering]

…I sat back and watched the show,

like everybody else.

Kanye West is known
as an innovative producer

who has graduated to A-list status.

[reporter 1] All-talent rap artist
Kanye West will take center stage.

[reporter 2] Today, the star garners
acclaim on his sophomore release,

Late Registration.

Kanye West, that was lovely.
Thank you so much.

Kanye means, "The appointed one"?

Kanye means "The only one."

-"The only one"?
-Yeah.

-It's kind of appropriate.
-[chuckles]

[fan] You a genius, Kanye!
You did it again!

[Kanye]
"What's the biggest thing in hip-hop?"

If I say, "Me," it comes off
as arrogant to people.

To some kids right now,
I am what Michael Jackson was to me.

I had heard that you were really arrogant.

-Yeah, I heard that too.
-[Oprah] I heard that you…

I heard that
you were really, like, out of control.

George Bush doesn't care
about Black people.

[Mike] Please call…

[reporter 1] Kanye West, he is not
a stranger to controversy.

-[reporter 2] That's not true.
-He's outspoken.

[reporter 3] I thought Kanye West
was blisteringly brilliant.

[reporter 4] Many felt
Bush didn't like Black people.

[Kanye] Don't point the camera at me
if you don't want me to say how I feel.

If I don't win,
the award show loses credibility.

[Kanye] I fight for what I think
is the best at the time.

I was just being an advocate
for what was the best out there,

-which just so happened to be me.
-[audience laughs]

[audience cheers]

[Kanye] Well, I just stand up
for what I believe in.

It's like, that's what
my parents taught me.

[Donda] Because Kanye knew
that I listened to him,

then he really didn't have
a big problem listening to me.

There are so many sides of Kanye.

So many aspects of his life
that people don't know about.

Mm-hmm. I think
he's a spectacular young man.

I think he's very special.

You've said. You're a mama's boy.

You love your mama,
and I think that's great.

Three-time Grammy winner Kanye West
is going to sing a song.

Before you do,
tell us a little bit about the song.

Well…

This is a song I wrote
for my mother back in 2000.

It's one of my favorite songs.

And I saved it for the opportunity to be
on the Oprah Show and perform it for her.

-[all] Aw!
-[audience cheering]

So, singing the world premiere
of "Hey Mama," Kanye West!

-[audience cheering]
-[music plays]

[Kanye] ♪ Hey Mama ♪

[audience cheering]

And the Grammy
for Best Rap Album goes to…

I'm proud to say,
Late Registration, Kanye West.

[audience cheering]

[Coodie] Back when I first interviewed
Kanye for Channel Zero in 1998…

We got my man, Kanye.

This motherfucker is…

…I knew he was destined for greatness.

This nigga from Chi-Town.

And even though I'd barely seen him
in the year before the Grammys,

I made sure to get to his after-party.

And take it back
to what first brought us all together.

Yeah! Channel Zero, ey, hold on.

Grammy after-party for Kanye West!

I did his video "Through The Wire."
I did a few things for him,

but we're about to bring back
Channel Zero on another level. You dig?

[man] Coodie!

Doin' it after the Grammys.
We took six home for '06!

Yo! Coodie! Chike!

That video was amazing!

I'm getting drunk. We just won Grammys.

This is the next, like, Oscar winner.

Watch. Remember I said that.

Congratulations to my nigga, Ye.

♪ I gotta testify ♪

♪ Come up in the spot looking extra fly ♪

Top, top of the world.

I'm gonna need about one second, Mark.

Sorry. [laughs]

[indistinct chatter]

[Kanye] Hey, we gotta get
some Channel Zero in.

Jermaine Dupri party, we was doing
Channel Zero, but now…

It's our party. A GOOD Music party.
It's a GOOD Music event.

I'm with my man, Chike.

I mean, Coodie.

-I'm drinking.
-Are you drunk, nigga?

Hey, we grew up together.

Don't act like I don't know your name.

What happened is, Bono had some wine.

We was flying on a private jet.

I gotta show how you flickin'.
How you flickin', G. How you flickin'?

I'm flicking like Rick James, bitch.

Sears.

Just some rock star shit.

Rock…

Look. I'm doing the interview, all right?
You want me to do the interview.

Channel Zero is in the house.
We doin' it big.

Grammys. Kanye. Winning.

But, like, tell them
how we get down, though.

Tell them how we get down in Chi-Town.

Man. Let me tell you how the Chi is, man.

I got all my Chi niggas out here.

South side of Chicago. I got Chike.

-GLC--
-Chike, nigga? You called me Chike again.

-Nigga, fuck you.
-[laughing]

Nigga, you called me Chike again.

Nigga, fuck you.

[both laugh]

♪ Hennessy is gonna be the death of me ♪

Hennessy will definitely.

Nigga, I'm gone. Man, come on.

How you gonna have an…
[slurred] interview?

Yeah, I'm not drunk.

-I just had three beers.
-That's it.

Shout-out to Channel Zero.
From 2006, shout-out!

Hey, look.

Hey, Chike, come on.

-Chike. [laughs]
-Kanye…

Look, he about to get violated. [laughs]

Hey, Coo.

I just got buried behind him.

Hey, this my man, Coodie.
I'm just fucking with him.

He did the "Through the Wire" video,
"Jesus Walks,"

one of my coldest videos ever.

Amen. This man in front of the screen,
behind the screen.

This is my man. He been on the team.

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

Hey. Channel Zero.

It's a new day, baby.
It feels good to be home.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

It's on and poppin', baby.

Kanye to the--

We doin' it.

Winning Grammys.

Now, it's time for some Oscars.
We're early.

Act like it.

Nigga, you're too buggin' for
calling me Chike. We're going this way.

[indistinct chatter]

[Coodie] I can't front.

After all this time,

it kind of hurt realizing that
I was now on the outside looking in.

But it was okay, though.

Because something special
was about to come into my life.

[doctor] We'll have the baby
for at least five to ten minutes

over there in the warmer.

If the baby's stable, we can show the mom.

-[Coodie] Okay, cool.
-All right.

[indistinct chatter]

[Coodie] How y'all doing? What's up?

[woman] Hello.

[Coodie] Hey. Hi.

You okay, baby?

It's gonna be all right, okay?

[Coodie] My daughter was supposed
to be born in November.

But she decided to come
two and half months early.

Ivy.

You're gonna be cool, Ivy. I'll see you.

[doctor] She's really small,
but she's gonna be okay, all right?

-[Coodie] Cool.
-Looking good.

[Coodie] What a day. She's here.

-Ivy came just a little early, baby.
-[doctor] That's all.

-[laughing]
-[Coodie's wife] She's fitting in.

[doctor] You named her?

[Coodie] Ivy Dominique. I-V-Y.
That's my middle name.

-Ivy.
-[doctor] Oh, okay. Ivy.

[Coodie]
When I met Ivy for the first time,

in that moment, I swear,
my entire perspective on life changed.

Baby. Look at you, Ivy.

-Look, she got my eyes.
-Look at those beautiful eyes.

[Coodie]
I was no longer living just for me.

From now on, I knew I'd be living for her.

[Coodie's wife] Hold Daddy finger.

There. Hold on to the finger, baby.

[Coodie] Ivy, we gonna document you.

You're about to be a superstar.

You're about to be a superstar, Ivy.

[indistinct chatter]

[Coodie] By the time I had Ivy,

I didn't have a number on Kanye.

Pretty much the only time I was around,
was when Mama West would call me

to document different parts of her life.

And then I have a lot of pictures
at the house.

The one thing that I like
about this family. All the babies,

everybody can talk.

You gotta know what to say.
You just can't be talkin'.

[Coodie] So, when Donda asked me
to put together

a promo video for her
and Kanye's new foundation,

I flew out to Chicago to get it done.

[man] All right, hold on for a second.

[Donda] Okay. Thank you very much.

I just wanted to take just a brief minute
to welcome you.

And to say how happy we are

that you guys have joined us today.
You get the behind-the-scenes view.

And then of course,
Kanye is gonna come out

and you'll see him work as well.

So, thank you so much.
We really are glad you're here.

So, I'mma play "Touch the Sky"?

[woman] "Touch the Sky."

["Touch the Sky" playing over speakers]

I promised this crowd,
just to take three questions.

Hi!

-[woman] Hi.
-[boy] Hi.

I bet you don't know who I am.

[audience clamors]

Okay. Guess what? Time goes so fast.

And I've been told
that your buses are out there.

So, Kanye is going to
pause this for a second.

He has to finish his rehearsal,

be at a press conference,
a million other things.

But we wanted to get in
just a few questions.

Any questions for Kanye?

[man] Hey, Kanye, I was wondering,
how are you gonna change hip-hop

with your new next album, Graduation?

Uh. Yeah. I definitely like
this album the best.

One of the things with Graduation,
we're just pushing.

One of the reasons I called it Graduation

is 'cause I feel like, I'm over.

I'm at this point where I can really feel…

You know, it's like,
my mom always taught me

you have to believe it first.

I had to believe
that I can make it into the game first.

That was one of the first things.
And I believed it and willed it.

And they say "overconfident"
like that's a bad thing.

I think overconfident,
maybe that needs to be a bad word.

How can you be overconfident?

You should be overconfident.

You should have more confidence!

People should have
more confidence in themselves.

But, they always say,
people that fade into the gray.

People who put their head down
and act like, "Okay."

You know, you do something really good…

And we supposed to be like,
"Oh, man, that song was dope."

-"Really? You think so?"
-[audience laughs]

And I'm like, "Oh, it's a great album."

"Man, you like that?
You got good taste. I like it too."

"We on the same vibe."

So, that's my thing.

Willing to beat the negative perception
that they try to throw

on a confident Black man.
Because they haven't seen that before.

It's almost a mentality
of the slave that's too loud.

"Quiet. Quiet down!"

"Quiet down!"

I'mma tell you how I feel about me.
I am the greatest!

And you should feel that way
about yourself too!

[audience cheers]

Thank you so much! Give yourselves a hand,
and Kanye a hand.

[audience cheering]

[Coodie] Watching Kanye onstage that day,

it was clear to me how much
Donda's words influenced him.

[reporter] Hey, Kanye.

[Coodie] It was like, the bigger he got,

the more he wanted her around.

[man] On three. Right here, guys.

One, two, three.

[Coodie] And after all this time,
it was amazing to see

what they were now building together.

Okay, great.

What was the importance
of education in your family?

Although Kanye is "the college dropout,"
he dropped in doing something else.

And he very much supports anybody
who wants to go to college.

Have you stopped being a mom?

Are you totally converted
into a business manager now?

[Donda] Yeah. The mom part
is friendship and discussions.

And parenting is over.

People say it turned out okay, so…

Whatever you put your mind to,
just never give up.

[knocking on door]

-Hey! Is Kanye in here?
-Yeah.

-[man] Yeah.
-[Donda] Yeah, okay.

[speaks indistinctly]

Okay. Hi, honey.

-You gonna do red carpet, right quick?
-[Kanye] Yeah.

[Donda] Okay.

Yeah.

Tonight's reception, we're just trying to
get people into the silent auction event.

Almost always need some more money
for the foundation.

[Donda sighs]

[Donda speaking indistinctly]

[woman on phone] She's had a heart attack.

She's not breathing or moving.
I'm trying to do CPR.

-[man] How old is this person?
-[woman] She's 58 years old.

-[man] Fifty-eight?
-Yes.

[man] Okay, 58. Now, you're doing CPR?

Ma'am, is she not breathing at all?

[woman] …her medications.
She complained she couldn't breathe.

-[man] So she's not--
-[woman] Clammy hands.

-[man] Is she breathing?
-[woman] No, she's not.

Dr. West?

Dr. West!

I don't feel a pulse.

Get an ambulance here now.

[siren wailing]

Some very sad news to report.
The mother of rapper Kanye West has died.

She was just 58 years old.

[reporter 1] Known for the strong bonds
she shared with Kanye.

[reporter 2] Donda wrote him, "As grateful
for having Kanye as I am for life itself."

Kanye and his mother thrived
in each other's company.

[reporter 3] His manager, his best friend.

[reporter 4] And we know how close he was
and how much he loved her

and praised her.

[Coodie]
As much as I didn't want to believe it,

it was devastating finding out
that Mama West was gone.

-This is my mom.
-Yeah. [chuckles]

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

[chuckles]

[Coodie] I couldn't imagine the pain
Kanye was feeling.

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

[Coodie] Donda was his everything.

I was like, "Kanye! All right!
Give it up!"

We got my mom in the house.

[Coodie] A few days after she passed,

Donda's family asked me
to put together a tribute for her funeral.

It was so hard looking at the moments
they shared together,

knowing she wouldn't be
by Kanye's side anymore.

Because I knew that all he wanted
was to make his mama proud.

[Kanye] ♪ Now everybody answer me ♪

♪ Hey Mama ♪

[both exclaim]

♪ I wanna scream so loud for you
'Cause I'm so proud of you ♪

♪ Let me tell you what I'm about to do ♪

♪ Hey Mama ♪

♪ I know I act a fool, but
I promise you I'm going back to school ♪

♪ I appreciate what you allowed for me ♪

♪ I just want… ♪

On stage I always did this.

♪ Hey Mama ♪

♪ I guess it also depends though
If my ends low ♪

♪ Second they get up
You gonna get that Benz though ♪

♪ Tint the windows, ride around the city
And let ya friends know ♪

♪ Tell your job you gotta fake 'em out ♪

♪ Since you brought me in this world
Let me take you out ♪

♪ To a restaurant, upper echelon ♪

♪ I'mma get you a Jag
Whatever else you want ♪

♪ Just tell me what kind of S-Type
Donda West like ♪

♪ Tell me the perfect color
So I make it just right ♪

♪ It don't gotta be Mother's Day
Or your birthday ♪

♪ For me to just call and say ♪

♪ Hey Mama ♪

[both exclaim]

♪ I wanna scream so loud for you
'Cause I'm so proud of you ♪

♪ Let me tell you what I'm about to do ♪

♪ Hey Mama ♪

♪ You know I love you so ♪

♪ And I never let you go ♪

♪ I wrote this song just so you know ♪

♪ No matter where you go
Our love is true ♪

♪ Hey Mama ♪

-[chuckles]
-[Coodie] Yeah.

-[Donda humming]
-[Coodie] That's right.

Hey, give it up! [laughs]

Give it up for the inspiration
of this song.

Bad, bad, dawg.

[both laugh]

Hey, give me five.

[both speaking indistinctly]

[Donda] Well, Kanye, thank you for being
just an outstanding son.

Mom.

You really are pretty…

Pretty cool, pretty cool.

The best, as a matter of fact.

-I were? [chuckles]
-Yep.

You the best mom.

Oh! [laughs]

[Kanye chuckles]

See you later. Give me a hug.

[both speaking indistinctly]

[Coodie] Losing Donda

was heartbreaking for everybody.

But what we didn't know
was how Kanye was gonna take it.

[Kanye] A hundred people I ain't talked to
in years call me out of the blue.

"You just need to stop touring."

"You just need to go home
and clear your head."

Go home to what, motherfucker?

[audience cheering]

[Kanye] "Because if they see you out,

and you go outside,
and then the media catches you…"

Man, fuck the media!

[audience cheering]

[Kanye] If she was here,

she would tell me to get on that stage,

and kill it, dawg.

[audience chanting] Kanye! Kanye! Kanye!

[Coodie] Not long after the funeral,
Kanye called me.

He said he wanted me around,
and I made sure to be there for him.

When I went to film one of his first shows

for the Glow in the Dark Tour,

I could tell Kanye was grieving.

But he kept working.

He refused to stop.

Kanye had asked me to document
the rest of the tour.

But when they hit the road,

his team told me there wasn't
any room for me to go.

[people speaking indistinctly]

[Coodie] I ended up seeing Kanye again
four months later,

when DeRay invited me to film his
performance for the Glow In The Dark Tour.

He didn't wanna say shit.

♪ Mr. West in the building
Swagger on a hundred thousand trillion ♪

[Coodie] When I got there, he didn't seem
like the same Kanye.

We hardly even spoke.

A week after that,

GLC asked me to come to the studio
to film a session that he had with Kanye.

And that day,

for whatever reason,
I didn't feel welcome.

Turn it up a little louder, please.

[Coodie] I was there to film GL.

But then Kanye did something
he hadn't done before.

He told me to stop filming him.

And for the next six years,
it turned out, that's exactly what I did.

[reporter] Mr. Kanye West.

[Donda] Everybody else sees the giant.

[Coodie] Look at you, boo-boo.

You want to come back to the camera?
You happy about the camera.

-Ivy?
-[squeals]

You hear me, baby? We been through a lot.

How old are you today?

[coos]

[Kanye] It feels good to be home,

here at The Grammys.

Mama, all I'mma do
is keep making you proud.

I don't have nothing to lose.

I have no loss.

I have dreams of one day
creating a fashion brand.

There's so many boundaries I have to
break past due to people's mentality.

[boy]
Wake up! There's a giant on the beach.

[Kanye] I say things the wrong way,
but my intention is always positive.

Best Female Video goes to Taylor Swift.

-Thank you so much!
-[Kanye] Yo, Taylor.

I'mma let you finish.

But Beyoncé had
one of the best videos of all time!

[reporter 1] Kanye West hijacked
Taylor Swift's acceptance speech.

[reporter 2] The ego is overdone.

[reporter 3] President Obama calling
Kanye West a jackass.

I was fortunate enough to meet your mom
a number of years ago.

What do you think she would have said?

Now, Ivy's about to sing.
Ain't that right, Ivy? Ready?

-Okay, Daddy.
-Let's go.

[reporter 1] Named after
Kanye's late mother, Dr. Donda West,

the collection
was more flash than substance.

[reporter 2]
Dark Twisted Fantasy is so good.

[reporter 3] Best record ever.

This industry that I'm trying to get into,
ain't nobody never broke down.

[Coodie] And cut! And action!

[Kanye] I am Shakespeare in the flesh.

You ain't got the answer, Sway.

-[Ivy] Dad!
-[Coodie] Huh?

Come here, Daddy. [speaks indistinctly]

[Coodie's wife] All right.
It's his first featured film.

Really, really proud of ya. [chuckles]

[photographer] Right here for Tribeca.

[reporter 1] We got two stars here
famous for being in love with themselves.

[reporter 2]
This is a recipe for disaster, people.

[Kanye]
My mother made me believe in myself.

Exactly what I did in music.
I want to apply to product.

[reporter] Kanye went on
a profanity-laced Twitter tirade.

[Kanye] I'm a creative genius.
There's no other way to word it.

You're not supposed to say that.

You're going to love me.
You're gonna hate me…

[Coodie] All of these memories.

But I'm happy.
So, I'm just gonna practice.

[Kanye] This is what we do
to hold people back.

When someone comes up and says
something like, "I'm a god."

Everybody says, "Who does he think he is?"

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

Would it have been better if I had
a song to say, "I am a nigga"?

Especially when you got shipped over
to the country that you're in

and your last name is a slave owner's.

How could you say that?

How could you have that mentality?

[Ivy] Dada.

I call him Daddy boo.

So, Da-da boo.

When he was 17, he met Kanye West.

-And…
-[Coodie] Mm-mm.

I met Kanye when he was like, 17.

But what age were you?

[Coodie] I was probably like, 24.

I was older.

What's your goals?
What do you want from life?

-You told me that you dance.
-I wanna be a…

I wanna be, uh…

I wanna be an artist.

When you like, wanna be an artist…

Like Kanye West, he's an artist.

When you grow older,
you want to be like that.

So, you want to be, um, creative…

Nice, kind,

generous.

So, do it. Do it.

[Coodie's wife] We gotta go.

We gotta go. Peace out!

[Coodie] After your child is born,
it's like you blink,

and years go by.

For a long time,
I only saw Kanye from afar.

But I was definitely happy to hear
that he became a father.

Especially knowing the joy
that Ivy brought into my life.

There was so much that had changed
for us both in six years.

And I still really wasn't sure
when I'd see Kanye again.

But God works in mysterious ways.

[indistinct chatter]

What up, Coodie?

What's up?

[Coodie] Out of the blue,
Common called me.

He wanted me to document his first
music festival back home in Chicago.

It was gonna be a huge event for the city.

And when I got there,
he told me Kanye was a surprise guest.

It made me a little nervous

because I knew Kanye…

but I had never met Yeezy.

What up, man? It's today.

We got the buses. We got our trailer.

It's back home for real.

[Common] What we're here to do
is create not only music,

but this is for the people.
This is a movement.

I gotta shout out Rhymefest
and Donda's House.

Dave Chappelle coming through.

I got one of my men,
Twista, of course, coming through.

Where you at, Chicago?

If you feel the spirit,

let me hear your hands
and see your hands in the air!

[music playing]

["Jesus Walks" playing]

♪ Jesus walks ♪

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

♪ Jesus walks with me ♪

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

♪ I want Jesus ♪

♪ And I don't think there's something
I can do now to right my wrongs ♪

♪ Jesus walks with me ♪

[Common] ♪ I want to talk to God ♪

♪ But I'm afraid
'Cause we ain't spoke in so long ♪

[audience cheering]

[audience] Kanye, Kanye, Kanye!

[Common] I don't know.

[melancholy music playing]

Kanye West.

The greatest.

[Coodie] Coming back to Chicago,

the concert felt like a family reunion.

And putting the camera back on Kanye,

that was the moment that I realized
how much I really missed my brother.

-[Kanye] What's good, man?
-[Coodie] Congrats on everything, brother.

-Thank you so much.
-[Coodie] For real.

Being in the same room again,

I couldn't help but think
about how close we used to be.

Even if now,
I still felt the distance between us.

But again, like my parents always said,

everything happens for a reason.

[woman] You're not recording.

[shushing]

[man whispers] He's coming.

-[all] Surprise!
-Surprise!

[Coodie] Because of the AAHH! Fest,

I was able to come home
and hang out with my dad.

Ever since I was a kid,
I wanted to follow in his footsteps.

[Coodie] Yeah. Go ahead.

-[Ivy] Happy Birthday, Grandpa.
-[Coodie's dad] Thank you.

[Coodie] I shared his name,

his smile,

his heart.

And this trip would be the last time

I would see him alive.

When he made his transition,

what I realized more than ever

is that our spirits never die.

And his legacy lives on…

through me.

On my way to the concert, you know.

Kanye West putting on his fashion show.

[Coodie] After seeing Kanye
at the AAHH! Fest,

it hit me how many moments
in his life that I had missed.

So, when I heard he was coming
to New York to have a fashion show

and a listening party for his new album,

I knew I had to show up with my camera.

[indistinct chatter]

-[Coodie] Ibn.
-What up, G?

New beginning. This the new beginning.

[Coodie] New beginning.

Wow.

[Coodie] Kanye used to say
he wanted to be the best-dressed rapper.

Now, here he was
with his own fashion line.

[Coodie] Okay. Thank you.

I was talking to Grandma. I'm not joking.

-[man] For real?
-Yeah, for real.

[laughter]

[photographer] Everybody, this way now.
Over here. This way. North!

I'm gonna make sure
you get back there now.

[audience cheering]

[Kanye] If you like it afterwards,
feel free to cheer.

Whatever y'all wanna do.

Whatever y'all feel.

♪ Yes, God ♪

♪ Lord ♪

♪ God ♪

[choir vocalizing]

[man] Yeah.

[people] Yeah!

How does it feel, boy?
I see how you did it.

What's up?

♪ You're the only power ♪

♪ Power ♪

♪ You're the only power that can ♪

♪ If young Metro don't trust you… ♪

♪ Beautiful morning
You're the sun in my morning, babe ♪

♪ Nothing unwanted ♪

♪ I hate the new Kanye
The bad mood Kanye ♪

♪ The always rude Kanye
Spaz in the news Kanye ♪

♪ I miss the sweet Kanye
Chop up the beats Kanye ♪

♪ I gotta say
At that time, I'd like to meet Kanye ♪

♪ See I invented Kanye
It wasn't any Kanyes ♪

♪ And now I look and look around ♪

♪ And there's so many Kanyes ♪

♪ I used to love Kanye
I used to love Kanye ♪

♪ I even had the pink polo
I thought I was Kanye ♪

♪ What if Kanye made a song about Kanye ♪

♪ Called "I Miss The Old Kanye" ♪

♪ Man, that would be so Kanye ♪

♪ That's all it was, Kanye ♪

♪ We still love Kanye ♪

♪ And I love you like Kanye loves Kanye ♪

-[chuckles]
-[audience cheers]

Tell me how y'all feel.
Did I deliver on my promise on that album?

[audience cheering]

Tell me how y'all feel
about the clothes this season.

[audience cheering]

It feels so good
to see all of my brothers,

all my music family,

my wife, her sisters.

[audience cheering]

And all of New York City standing behind
the crazy nigga from the interviews.

[audience continues cheering]

I just want to bring
as much beauty to the world as possible.

I'm only 38 years old.

[man] Fucking monster!

♪ Man, I can understand how it might be ♪

♪ Kinda hard to love a girl like me ♪

♪ I don't blame you much
For wanting to be free ♪

♪ I just wanted you to know ♪

[music playing]

♪ Swizz told me let the beat rock ♪

[Coodie] At this point, Kanye was arguably
the biggest artist in the world.

And by now, I was okay with the fact
that our relationship

might never be what it was.

I was just proud
to see his dreams coming to fruition.

[indistinct chatter]

With all the people around…

My only regret was not getting
a chance to talk to him.

-[woman 1] See you in LA.
-[woman 2] See you Monday!

[Coodie] And get a feel
for how he was really doing.

[reporter 1]
Good news for Kanye West fans.

[reporter 2] Kanye West is going on tour.

Just yesterday, more than 30 dates
for Saint Pablo concert tour.

[reporter 3] …his recent music video.

Or, as he calls it, an "art visual."

[reporter 4] Take Taylor Swift.

West calls her out by name
in the lyrics of the song.

[reporter 5] From Paris. A robbery,
leaving reality TV star Kim Kardashian--

[reporter 6] …held at gunpoint.

[reporter 7] Her husband was in the middle
of a sold-out concert here in New York.

[Kanye] This is a family
emergency. I have to stop the show.

[man] What happened to Kim?

[reporter 1] Donald Trump will be
the 45th President.

[reporter 2] Most surreal election
we have ever seen.

[reporter 3] Kanye West's Saint Pablo Tour
will continue tomorrow night

with a show
at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

[Kanye] Stop it, stop it, stop it.

Lot of people
here tonight felt like they lost.

You know why? 'Cause y'all been lied to.

Black men have been slaves.

Obama wasn't allowed to do this…

[yells]

……and still win.

He had to be perfect.

But being perfect
don't always change shit, bro!

[reporter] People who went

say it's really disturbing
what's happening to him.

[Kanye] I am putting my career, my life,

my public well-standing at risk

when I talk to y'all like this.

This is the way of thinking
to make America great again.

I'm not scared. I'm here to change things.

I am here to change things.

But things won't change
until people admit their own falsehoods.

I got the vision, bro.
That is what I've been blessed with.

My vision.

I'm not always gonna say things
the perfect way, the right way.

But I'm gonna say how I feel.

Right now, press!
Get ready to have a field day, press!

Get ready. Get ready.

'Cause the show's over.

Kanye West is hospitalized today

after a string of several
bizarre recent incidents at concerts.

His doctor reportedly called 911,
saying he was psychotic.

[dispatcher] Psychiatric emergency.

[reporter] Officials spoke with West
for 90 minutes

before following protocol for
a psychiatric patient, restraining him.

[reporter 2] West is said to be
under a psychiatric hold today,

which prevents him
from leaving the hospital.

[Coodie] When I heard Kanye
was committed to the hospital,

as a friend, I was concerned for his life.

[telephone ringing]

When I would see Kanye go off in the past,

I just thought it was a part of the show.

I had no idea he was even struggling
with his mental health.

For weeks,

I did everything I could
to get in touch with him,

but no one would return my calls.

[reporter 1] …was on the cover
of Time Magazine.

This has been a downhill spiral.

[reporter 2] We're told
he's getting the help he needs.

[reporter 4]
What's going on with Kanye West?

[Coodie] Months went by.

And Kanye reached out to Olskool Ice-Gre.

And Ice-Gre reached out to me.

I want him out of the street.
Jump up the street some more.

I'm with… Look at it pop.

I'm trying to get my boy.
Can y'all tell him how to come over here?

[man] Over here.

Flash him over there. Flash, Kanye.

Yo!

Here.

-[Greg] Are you proud of--
-You see me flash you?

Y'all see me flash you?

You know what it is, bruh!

Coodie! You know what it is!

[laughter]

[Kanye] What's up, baby? We got you.

My brother. What's up, man?

[Greg] Lordy! This is good! This is good
right here! This is good right here.

This is good right here.
They don't know what this is right here!

[Coodie] With everything he had
just gone through,

it was so good
to see Kanye happy and healthy.

It had been so long
since we really connected.

And this reunion
felt like a new beginning.

For years,
I thought the documentary was over.

But now I saw
that there was more of Kanye's story

that I could tell.

[Greg] I personally think you're zoned in
more than ever right now, though.

Like, the now…

Like we're talking about the now.

Everything that happened
over probably the last…

You know,
leading up over the last seven months.

I just look at everything,
how things is moving.

We have to embrace our now,

to be able to work with
and surround yourself with the people

who create
the most meaningful things on the planet.

You know, we only got 100 years here.

So we gotta go after it,

while it's our time.

What do you think?

♪ Do you experience
Nervousness or shakiness inside? ♪

♪ Faintness and dizziness? ♪

♪ The idea that someone else
Can control your thoughts ♪

♪ Feeling others are to blame
For most of your thoughts ♪

♪ Trouble remembering things
Feeling easily annoyed and irritated ♪

I think I can find another
like more uplifting melody.

♪ I feel like that… I feel like that…
I feel like that…♪

Something.

♪ I feel like that… ♪

I feel like that… I feel like that…♪

♪ I feel like that all the time ♪

♪ I feel like that all the time ♪

♪ I've been working all night ♪

♪ All night ♪

♪ I've been living life
Like this all the time ♪

♪ Man, I'm falling in love again
For my life ♪

♪ Making love to all of the feelings ♪

Hey, hey!

Hey, hey!

Man, I had goosebumps, for real.

That shit was incredible.

Look, man, that's what this song needs.
You just did it.

-[Kanye] We needed that pocket, right?
-Yeah.

You fucking with this toy?
I see your face.

-This your first time hearing this?
-[Coodie] Yeah.

[laughing]

♪ It feels so good it should cost ♪

♪ Bought a alligator
I ain't talking Lacoste ♪

♪ Made me say oh ♪

♪ Like I'm mixing Master P and Rick Ross ♪

♪ She seem to make me
Always feel like a boss ♪

♪ I said I'm in the wrong hole
I said I'm lost ♪

♪ I couldn't never had a wicked thought ♪

[raps indistinctly]

♪ This the theme song ♪

♪ Everything wrong ♪

♪ Make your thing go ♪

♪ Get your feeling on ♪

♪ Take your jeans off ♪

[raps indistinctly]

♪ Let your friends know ♪

-♪ Just suicide drills ♪
-♪ Just suicide drills ♪

♪ Ain't nobody tell you
That suicide kills? ♪

Uh-uh. Uh-uh.

♪ Baby, let me know
What you really, really feel ♪

Uh-uh.

♪ Here to let you know
Ghosts really, really real ♪

Uh-uh. Uh-uh.

This new album, this shit is gonna be…

Like, I like the fact
that he wants it to be positive

and about all these things
that we're touching on,

like suicide, and death and ghosts.

Those are topics that I can get into.

[Greg] Right.

You know, when he starts getting all like,

the braggadocious shit and like that shit,

I can't hang.

-[Greg laughs] Right.
-I can do it, but I can't hang.

[Greg] Yeah, right.

I'm like, "Man, can't nobody do it
as good as you, man."

[Kanye] It's better for us
to touch on things

that people can really relate to
and feel like they're going through.

And even me, when I already had the house

and the wife and the kids and the plaques,

all the stuff and shit,

would still have moments
where I felt like, suicidal.

Here, still have moments
where I'm addicted to Percocets

and don't even realize it.

-You know what I'm saying?
-[Kid] Right.

So… Yeah.

-[Kid] Yeah.
-Yeah.

-[Kid] Chasing ghosts.
-[Coodie] But we here now.

[Coodie] The here and now.

[Coodie] After the year Kanye had had,

it felt important to focus
on what was in front of us.

But now that we had
the opportunity to sit and talk,

I just wanted
to be there for him as a brother.

I wanted to try and understand
what was on his heart.

[Kanye] I was confused.

Didn't know where I was going.

Hit a breaking point.

You come out of it, think you could.

[Coodie] Mm-hmm.

Sometimes God gotta sit you down
to wake you up.

You know what I'm saying, though?

"Hey, I'mma put you down,
I'mma wake you right back up, man."

"Let's move in the right direction."

I feel that anybody in the past

that has been in a position
of influence, like that I'm in,

has, you know, made Versailles.

I'm not satisfied
with anything less than the best.

Because time is fleeting.

We do this research.
We're in China right now.

We're scouring the globe
to find the best factories,

to work with the best designers.

And people haven't even seen our best yet.

We… We just scratching the surface.

I feel like it needs to be
more organic to be a Yeezy.

And not so curved like…

-Not so… [growls]
-Like…

I kinda don't like the way
this kicks to the front, right there

-because he needs to…
-Soften it up?

Yeah.

Like, I like this fleece so much less
than my ability fabrics.

So much less than Season 4.

Like, I hate digressing.

See, that's what makes the 700 so scary.

That it's like, bulky.

Like, I'm like…

thirty-five pounds overweight

due to medication
that I have to fucking take, right?

But I still have the aspiration
when I look down at my feet

of being super slim and shit,

how it was like when I was on tour.

Why couldn't the 700 have been
engineered to be like this?

Where it's like, slim, but like…

Flows out in the right places.

And very purposefully.

-[woman] Yeah. It's way less organic.
-That's what I'm saying.

Hello. How are you doing?

What's up? How are you?

-Long time.
-[Kanye] Yes, sir.

When we met before, you said
you want to go into the fashion scene.

-Mm-hmm.
-But, uh, twisting for the fashion scene.

-Yeah.
-Right?

I wanna twist it all up, yeah.

[chuckles] Everything.

-Huge hit, right?
-Yeah.

-Jeen-Yuhs.
-Thank you.

Oh, my God. [chuckles]

[Coodie] Moving around with Kanye,

watching him work up close again,

was inspiring.

He always seemed to be
in his best spirits when he was creating.

[indistinct chatter and laughter]

Okay, so, I follow you.

[Coodie] And for him, it seemed to be
the healing that he needed.

You get in the middle. Yeah.

[speaking Japanese]

-[man] Look at that.
-[Kid] Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Hold on.

Thank you.

[Kid] Nice meeting you, appreciate it.

♪ Pop up at the whip like… ♪

-♪ Stop at the… ♪
-♪ Yeah ♪

-♪ Bitches… ♪
-♪ What? ♪

♪ Fuck out the way, not looking at you ♪

-♪ This exactly what they do ♪
-♪ Yeah ♪

-♪ This exactly how you do ♪
-♪ Come on ♪

[raps indistinctly]

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ …number two ♪

Whoo!

♪ Bitches make that sound
Like number two ♪

[laughter]

I need that, 'cause I gotta do that
when we get back to the energy season.

[Coodie] I'll send it to you right now.

♪ Just to make everything number two ♪

[Coodie] It meant a lot
that Kanye asked me to go on this trip.

It was like old times
being back on the camera, filming him.

But as much as I wanted
to keep the good energy going,

I knew when we made it home to the States,

we would all have to
get back to our lives.

[Coodie] With the influence that you have,

all you gotta do
is just go with the flow at this point.

-You know?
-[Kanye] Mm.

[Coodie] And it's flowing.

You know, you're here with the team.

You got the best team and…

But that's all God.

You know, that's one of the things
that I wanted to come talk to you about.

'Cause, it was faith,

and faith in him, he just moves mountains,
you know what I'm saying?

-[Kanye] Mm-hmm.
-And he'll make sure you straight,

because you got the desire.

He gonna make sure you're straight.

Yeah.

Yeah. I'm definitely straight.
I'm definitely straighter than straight.

I'm good like, I've lived
a thousand lifetimes. You know?

[Coodie] Mm-hmm.

I wanna make sure
that everybody is straight.

[Coodie] Mm-hmm.

You know, I'm not gonna be
completely happy and completely satisfied

until the world is completely satisfied

and the world is completely happy,

because that's the position
that I've been put in.

I've been put in a position of influence,
and I'm so blessed

that everything that we work on now is…

"Oh, how can we take this
and give this to the masses?"

And if everyone
is focused on helping everyone,

everybody's gonna be
in a better position.

[Coodie] Mm-hmm. That's for sure.

No purposeful errors.

-No killing.
-[Coodie] Right.

You know, no ill will.

[Coodie] Mm-hmm

[Coodie] I didn't know
when I would see Kanye next.

but, for now, it seemed like
he had found his peace.

The question was,
where would he go from here?

[Kanye] No purposeful errors.

[reporter 1] The rapper, infamous
for courting controversy doubled down.

[reporter 2] Kanye, in a MAGA hat.

[reporter 3] The fact he won
proves anything's possible.

I like Kanye very much.

[Kanye] I felt a freedom,

just doing something
that everybody tells you not to do.

West is under fire tonight.

-Now, he's getting a lot of attention.
-Backlash over his comments on slavery.

More people now are turning against Kanye.

[reporter] That statement
was one of the most ignorant--

A lot of us,
as Black people, were very upset.

I want to take this moment right now
to say that I'm sorry.

I'm not on no side.

I got love for everybody.

Kanye West has some real power.

[Van] Is Kanye in the Sunken Place?

[Kanye] The thing
about being called crazy,

biggest stigma
that has to be broken is that

you instantly get written off.

-Kanye West is defending himself…
-It's ignorant, it's irresponsible…

[Kanye] When I see an outsider infiltrate,

I connect with that.

[Donald] They like me.

President Trump spent some time yesterday
taking it "Yeezy" with Kanye West.

The rapper's riffs ran the gamut.

[reporter] We're all watching the screen.

I think he was being misused.

[reporter 1] It was disturbing.

[woman crying] I was really emotional…

An irrational madman rants
and raves at him.

Now he knows how we feel every morning…

[Kanye] Fear. Stress. Lose Control.
Manipulation. Being a pawn.

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

[reporter 1] The man is completely lost.

[reporter 2] It's just dangerous.

-[reporter 3] Where is the love?
-[reporter 4] Playing with lives.

[reporter 5] Figure out who you are.

[Coodie] It was difficult
watching Kanye on TV,

knowing he had issues
with his mental health.

[reporter 6] Like, it's clearly someone
who is off his meds, who…

[Coodie] They were calling him crazy.

but to me, it seemed like
he was crying out for help.

[Kanye] ♪ I told God
I'd be back in a second ♪

♪ Man, it's so hard not to act reckless ♪

[Coodie] In the past, Kanye might've
rubbed folks the wrong way.

But, for the first time,

it felt like he really lost the people.

[Kanye] ♪ Because the Devil's
Tryna break me down ♪

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

-[music playing]
-[chorus singing]

[Coodie] Later that spring,

Kanye started a gospel choir
called Sunday Service.

And with everything
that had happened a year before,

I saw that a lot of people
were questioning his intent.

[reporter 1]
The idea of someone as confused as Kanye…

-[reporter 2] It's convenient.
-[reporter 3] Is it to sell records?

[reporter 4] Is Kanye trying to resurrect
his career with Sunday Service?

[Coodie] When I took my next trip to LA,

he invited me to come to his studio
to see what he was working on.

I hoped that this visit
would give me a better idea

of where he was really at in his life.

But by now,
I honestly had no idea what to expect.

[Kanye] ♪ Use this gospel for protection ♪

Just use the "for protection" part.
Then, the other gospel part.

[choir vocalizing]

You know, people started coming
to Sunday Service to see the choir.

-No, you come to service to see Christ.
-[man] Mm-hmm.

To him… For that light to be shown.

It's not about…

What we're doing is…
Me being a full, humble,

fall-to-the-floor service to Christ

for more people to understand Him

and to see Christ.

Like, even when I was dead, uh,

time will move by so fast

that I dealt
with a lot of fear and anxiety.

And now that, you know,
I'm, uh, reborn, it's, um…

[clicks tongue]

Uh, every day, every moment,
is, like, the best…

Uh, is the best day of my life.

Each day keeps getting better 'cause
I had all the days before, and this day.

Even the days that have the pain
and things that you grow from,

you need to really appreciate
the gift of life.

-That we get to be here.
-Mm-hmm.

That God made us in His image.

I'll do things where I'll just see a sign.

Like, if I say something out loud,

it's like a voice in my head,
or my mom talking to me,

or God telling me something.

So, if we were driving
the four-by-four through the property,

and we could see…
One of the things we could see, um…

Uh…

Was this white house
in the middle of some greenery.

Wasn't no house but the greenery.
And I just said, um…

"We gotta get
the white house out of the view."

Right?

And then I came back
and took the Trump tweet off of the board.

Because it needs to be The Bible
at the top.

And I understand that
I got my Black Card back.

And people are like,
"Oh, man, it's all good. You liked Trump."

All that. But it's like,
no, it's not about that.

'Cause we putting too much energy.
We running around like…

No. God's got that anyway.

It was always in His plan.

"Okay, Ye, go away for a year."

"All you need to… Just chill out."

"And then when you're ready to serve me,
it's going to be back-to-back."

We don't even know what's gonna happen
a week from now. Gonna be…

We just clear the runway.
Like it was College Dropout time.

We're gonna be bringing,
yo, like, literally Arrowstar.

Like, the person who taught me
how to rap. You know?

Boogz and Brian, we're sharing records.

J. Ivy, Coodie…

Look, I've got
all kind of family around me.

It's like the opposite
of some of the other environments

on those other records
where we were chasing the nonsense.

[man] How do you think Christians
are going to react to the album?

[Kanye] They're gonna be overwhelmed.

It's going to be
just overwhelming support.

This is no more about all the rap
that we grew up on and all that.

We've… We've exceeded that.

♪ Up from the ashes, into the sky ♪

♪ Found a redeemer, how I survive ♪

Okay. We out here.

Last Sunday Service.
You know what I'm talking about?

We got OG, Ice-Gre.

I heard this might be the last.
We don't know yet.

-[Greg] Yeah.
-[Coodie] But we here.

[Greg] It's going on the road.

[reporter 1] This Sunday Service thing
has now turned into a tour.

-They are going places.
-[reporter 2] Yeah.

[reporter 3] It is phenomenal
to have that spiritual focus.

[reporter 4] His path is so interesting.

Where he's been to now have
this Sunday Service thing,

it's absolutely amazing.

[Kanye]
I thought I was the god of culture,

but really, culture was my god.

Now that I'm in service to Christ,

my job is to spread the gospel.

And in that, I'm no longer a slave.

I'm free.

His new album is called Jesus Is King…

[reporter 1] Jesus Is King is the rapper's
ninth consecutive number-one album.

It's given the rapper
his biggest streaming week ever.

[reporter 2]
Everything that Kanye West does is a hit.

Doesn't matter what it is.

[reporter 3]
Kanye West recently announced plans

to move his Yeezy shoe brand
back to the United States.

[reporter 4]
More specifically Cody, Wyoming.

West says he'll use his
4,000-acre ranch in the Cowboy State

as the company's headquarters.

[Kanye] Everybody wants a similar thing,
and that's for the world to be better

for their children.

God is using me.

[reporter 1] The WHO just declared this

-a global health emergency.
-[reporter 2] The situation is evolving.

[reporter 3] Desperate measures
in some states

to slow the spread
of the coronavirus as you can…

[Coodie] When COVID-19 broke out,

everyone was uncertain
of what was gonna happen next.

With everything shut down,
I knew that this was the right time

to finally put together the documentary

that I had started filming
over 20 years ago.

Coodie's doing a documentary on me.

-[man] No way.
-Yeah.

Still doing your documentary?
I thought it was finished.

-[man] No.
-[Coodie] It'll never be finished.

This is Coodie. He shot all the footage.

-[man 1] Coodie, man!
-[man 2] Coodie!

[Coodie]
Looking through hundreds of tapes,

there were so many important moments
that had been locked away and forgotten.

As we started editing,

I couldn't help
but feel grateful for all the times

that me and Kanye shared over the years.

Especially seeing how far we had come.

From "Jesus Walks" to Jesus Is King,

things have come full circle.

God had directed us all to this point.

And now it felt like
our movie had the perfect ending.

At least that's what I thought.

[reporter 1] Another name
getting into the race for president.

And this is a big name,
but a surprising name.

[reporter 2] Yeezy tweeted yesterday,

"We must now realize the promise
of America by trusting God."

"I am running for president
of the United States."

"#2020vision."

-[reporter 3] It's an attention grab.
-[reporter 4] …serious times.

[reporter 5]
None of this should even be a story.

[Coodie] We had worked
on the film for months,

when we saw that Kanye
was actually running for president.

[telephone ringing]

[Coodie] That's when he called,

asking to use some footage for an album
that he was dedicating to his mom.

I said, "Of course."

Then told him I wanted to show him
what we'd been working on.

So, I flew out to meet with him
the next day.

[Kanye] Okay, so…
So, move forward with the…

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.

That has seven hours…

He has a 7.5-hour documentary.

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

He's actually with me right now.

Uh… Also, can you send that teaser?

I want to show it to people.
You guys get on the phone.

So, those are the two things
I just wanted to cover right now.

Okay. Thanks.

[Kanye] ♪ That is necessary… ♪

-Can you help write to this one?
-[Rhymefest] Of course.

[Kanye] Play it at me.

[music plays]

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Undeniably the top ten ♪

♪ Brought souls to J-HOV ♪

♪ Now bringing souls to Jehovah ♪

♪ Raised in the cold
Thank God I'm bipolar… ♪

[rapping indistinctly]

[man] Yeah.

[Kanye] ♪ Blessings ♪

♪ Blessings upon blessings ♪

♪ Testing ♪

♪ Postpartum depression, aggression ♪

♪ These are my confessions ♪

♪ Yes and ♪

♪ In the therapy sessions
The blessings ♪

♪ Blessings upon blessings
Blessings ♪

♪ Blessings upon blessings
Blessings ♪

♪ Then I go and question
Questions ♪

-[music stops]
-[Rhymefest] That's fire.

-There's something got me lit.
-[Rhymefest] So fire, bro.

[indistinct chatter]

-Right?
-Crazy.

[Kanye] ♪ More than anything ♪

That's it.

♪ More than anything ♪

[Coodie] Whenever I saw Kanye
put his mind on something,

he wouldn't stop
until he accomplished it.

Everything I watched him do,
he always figured out a way.

I was just trying
to understand why, at this time,

he felt the need to run for president.

But the one thing I know about Kanye
is he hate the word "can't."

So, when he told me
he was putting his name on the ballot,

the only thing I could think to say was,

"If you can conceive and believe,
you can achieve."

[woman] Hi! How we going? Good.

-How is everyone?
-[man] Hey.

Good to see you again.

[Coodie] Our trip was almost over.

But before we left DR,

we went to have drinks with some of
Kanye's potential real estate partners.

[Mike] You know what'd be cool
to put out there? Is like, a church.

Where you have Sunday Service?

[all speaking indistinctly]

Have you guys… Maybe you guys…

Have you guys ever been
locked up in handcuffs

and put into a hospital because
your brain was too big for your skull?

-[David] No, I haven't.
-Okay. I have.

-[David chuckles]
-All right, so…

Next conversation.

[both chuckle]

What you guys made here is the idea.

But then there's like, one or two
crazy motherfuckers on the planet

that take it to this.

What we have over there…

Don't play around. It's not a game.

Two years of studying with Turell,
two years with Claudio.

Foster's on the project, off the project.
Ando's on the project, off the project.

[exclaims]

This right here. Trash.

Trash. Basta. It's finished.

I don't care if it has a tag of mine.

-[Bryan] Yeah.
-[exclaims]

[Coodie chuckles]

Look at this.

This is barely edible.

[all chuckling]

Yeah, it's not good.

What a waste of talent.

I'm saying that in the most humble way,
but at a certain point, it's like…

-Michael Jordan is Michael Jordan.
-[David] Yeah.

So, we got to…

[Coodie] As the conversation went on,

the more the energy shifted.

It's not a game.

I go to the hospital for this.

I take medica…

I took bipolar medication last night
to have a normal conversation,

and turn alien to English.

So, what we talking about?

I do not communicate in a way
that people understand in public,

because it's just truth,
and we're in a world of lies.

There's an execution style
that was performed on me

over the past six-seven years,
post Taylor Swift,

where they tie one arm…

both arms, both legs, to four horses.

All in different directions.

-[exclaims]
-[Mike chuckles]

[Kanye] They didn't know
they was dealing with Deadpool though.

-Deadpool.
-[Bryan] Really?

[Kanye] Those limbs grew back.

[Coodie] I had never captured
this side of Kanye before.

And it just didn't feel right
to keep filming,

so I cut the camera off.

I flew back to New York the next day.

And the day after that,
Kanye was all over the news.

[indistinct chatter]

[reporter] It looks like Kanye West
still has his eyes set on the White House.

The rapper held his first political rally.

[reporter 1] Talking about abortion…

[reporter 2] "Women who don't abort
should be offered a million dollars each."

[reporter 3] He went after Harriet Tubman.

[reporter 4] Diversity in corporate…

[reporter 5] It's incoherent.

[reporter 6] None of it, in its totality,
made any sense.

[reporter 7] At one point,
he broke down into tears.

wanted his mom to have an abortion
while she was pregnant with him.

[reporter 8] Kanye's bombshell confession
comes after reports claim

that the rapper is in the midst
of a bipolar episode.

[Coodie] A few days after seeing him
break down on TV,

I left for Wyoming to check on him.

-[Coodie] Yeah, right there?
-[Coodie's wife] Maybe?

[turn signal ticking]

Upstairs is kind of where his kids,
when they're here,

they go to school in their playroom.

That's fine.

[music playing over earphones]

It's coming your way right now.
Sending it to you right now.

-[Common] Okay.
-I love him.

-[Common] My love, brother.
-[Coodie] Rash.

Coodie. It's Coodie right here.
Boy, we out here.

[Common] Coodie. What up? What up, bro?

-[Coodie] We out here.
-[Common chuckles] Oh, my God.

[Kanye] Yeah, just text it to me.

[Common speaking indistinctly over phone]

[Coodie] Yeah, man.

You already know.

[Common] Good stuff. I'm excited, man.

I'm glad to hear Ye's voice.

Y'all out there with him, it's good.

[Coodie] You know, that's our brother,
man. We know we out here kicking it

in this big old, um, acres of land.

-[Common] Yeezy country.
-[Coodie] We're spreading love, man.

-[Common] Yes, sir.
-[Kanye] Yo, I just sent you that joint.

-[Common] Okay.
-[Kanye] Also, I'm gonna…

[indistinct]

If I'm in your space, you can let me know.

No. It's good. It's good.

So, what are we, uh…

Basically, we're…

This is something you might deal with,
where I'm telling the team

a million times what I want.

And it's subtly crushing
my soul and my ego

and my respect and my dignity as a boss.

It's only gonna be like this.

[indistinct chatter over speakers]

[music playing]

[Justin]
♪ God, I will always follow your lead ♪

♪ God, I will always follow your lead ♪

"Remind me that don't…"
You can keep the first one…

♪ Remind me that don't define me ♪

[Kanye] Yo, Rick.

[Rick] Yo.

What's up, bro? How you been?

[Rick]
Oh. Everything is cool, man. I love you.

I miss you. I'm so excited to see you.

[Kanye] Yeah. I'm energized to see you.

[Rick] Great.

So, tell me the plan for tomorrow.

[Kanye] I'm going to see Tina Frey.

Have you seen her work?
It's like pottery in resin. Yeah.

-[Rick] I've not, but I'm down, 100%.
-[Kanye] Yeah.

You gonna come back to the ranch with us?
We're gonna fly there after that.

[Rick] Well, I was gonna fly out,
hang out with you for a couple hours,

then come back home after.

[Kanye]
I think you should come to the ranch.

[Rick] Really?

-[Kanye] Uh, no pressure.
-[Rick] Let me figure it out.

No, of course. Let me figure out
how that would work. So that would be on…

If I were to do that,
then I'd do that on Sunday instead.

Let me see if I can
move things around to do that.

-[Kanye] Okay.
-[Rick] Great. Couldn't be more excited.

Mm.

[Kanye] I always tell people this,

that when I do the dictionary game,

you know, the word "excited"
has a bit of negativity in it.

If someone gave you
a brand-new airplane…

[chuckles] and they told you
it was across the street,

or if someone gave you a new car,
told you it was across the street,

you might run so fast
that you get hit by a car,

trying to get to your new car.

So, that's the reason
why I would say "energized."

[Rick] I see.

Because even with Black culture
and woke culture,

they try to just excite us so much.

We get so excited about this,
excited about that.

-[Rick] Yeah.
-So…

-I'm learning the Zen vibes.
-[Rick] I like it.

-Yeah.
-[Rick] It's a good word.

Yeah.

All right. Well, I wasn't saying that
to correct you. I was just saying…

[Rick] No, I appreciate it.
I like listening, I like to learn.

Yeah. All right, well… Love you, brother.

[Rick] I love you too.
Send me the mix, send me the music,

and I'mma, um…
I'mma see if I can move it.

[continues indistinctly]

Let me do it.

♪ You were born to a inside joke ♪

♪ When my mouth popped back
And my inside spoke ♪

♪ And if I've ever done a sin
I might not seem that woke ♪

♪ And I ain't really seen that woke
You see… ♪

Stop it.

Now I know we got to rewrite
some of the parts to this song

'cause I want it to be all positive.

♪ Remind me that don't define me… ♪

So…

Uh…

I wanna do…
Instead of saying what doesn't define you,

what does define us?

'Cause, "Remind me that don't define me,"

it has negatives in it.

Like, "A mind is a terrible thing
to waste." We grew up on that.

Think about what they said though.
"A mind is a terrible thing to waste."

You know what I'm saying?
So you got to be really mindful of…

So, how do we… 'Cause…

♪ God, we'll always follow your lead ♪

That's great.

But, "Remind me that don't define me,"
it's already saying,

"Man, deplorable. Y'all trying to make me
look crazy for crying about abortion."

Now I'm a crazy man.

Now everybody calling me,
"I hope you're okay."

Man, the world ain't okay,

sick motherfuckers.

If somebody say,
"I just got an abortion," on TV,

y'all will be like,
"Oh, man, that's cool."

If I said that my dad
almost aborted Kanye West

and Kanye West almost aborted North West,
and I'm crying about it,

you wanna make me look like
I'm motherfucking crazy.

And it doesn't matter.

For two years,
they tried to say I wasn't a billionaire.

[Coodie]
My young brother. Everybody know him.

Some people even worship this man.
But he's a real person

that is going through something.

And you could say whatever, but…

All I got to say, man, is, uh, we praying.

We're going to keep praying.
I know God, he's protecting us.

He always has. You know,
growing up in the hood,

he always kept his force field around me
and my family and my friends.

And, you know…

And I know my father
and Donda is up in heaven right now…

[voice breaks] Um…

Looking down and, uh…

[stumbling] And…

And hugging us tight.

[Kanye] I'm feeling good.

We just came to San Francisco.

Do you remember
when we were in the Dominican,

that house we went to?
And it had those really nice bowls?

-[Kanye's father] Nice what?
-Those nice bowls

at the house we went to
in the Dominican, the other house.

Remember the second house we went to?

We were on the beach at the other house,

the other location, right?

-[music playing on stereo]
-[Kanye] Come on, bro. Stop that, man.

-I'm talking to my dad. Chill.
-[man 1] He got it, Kanye.

-[Kanye] Why you doing that, man?
-[man 2] I lost memory or something.

-[music stops]
-What about it?

What I'm saying, is I'm pulling up to
the artist's studio that made those bowls.

-[Kanye's father] Oh, okay.
-It's very relaxing, very soothing.

Very stress-free for me. [chuckles]
It's very fun.

And you're in San Francisco?

Yeah. I'm in San Francisco,
but we're going back to Cody tonight.

[Kanye's father] Okay.

All right, well…

You're doing okay, right?

Yeah. Um, how do you feel?

I feel good. I'm just concerned about you.

Yeah. Well, you know…

When you go out
and say things like, "No abortion,"

you know how the media is going to be.

That's a very strong, Christian statement.

And Christians are scrutinized

and killed for our beliefs
and following the word of God, you know?

And I stand up for what…

I use my voice
and I won't not use my voice.

Uh… Because my voice is actually
more powerful than even my finances.

So, they can't control me
with finances.

[man] That's deep.

[Kanye's father] I'm just saying,
write your speech next time, Kanye.

Okay.

[Coodie] Pop, we got him. He good now.

Man, hold on one second.

My dad don't even remember you.
What're you saying?

-[Coodie] But if he asks, we got you.
-What'd he say?

He said, "Pop, we got him."

That's one of my best friends,
I've known for 30 years,

that's in the car with me right now.

All right.

[Coodie] He's like my little brother.

Yo, let's write it next time.

[man] I'll write the speech
before you say something.

You know what I'm saying?
The first time I rode a bike, I fell.

[all chuckle]

[Kanye's father] Okay.

I'mma get to the point
of popping wheelies.

All right.

You remember by the time
I used to learn how to ride a bike,

I was riding on top of the handlebars.

But when we were in Atlanta
and we went down that hill,

riding that bike. I remember that.

-Yes. Yeah.
-You fell for the first time.

The first time I fell was by the time…
[continues indistinctly]

I was riding on the handlebars.

[Kanye's father] But you also remember
I ran beside you to keep you up?

[Kanye] Well, I need you beside me.

-All right. I'll let you go do your thing.
-Okay. We'll talk soon.

-Hey. How are you?
-Hi!

-I love your pants.
-So nice to see you.

-[Kanye] Good to see you too.
-Come on in.

-[Kanye] This is my dad over here.
-Hi!

Oh! Hi! Show him the studio.

[Kanye] Yeah. Look at the studio.
Look at what she makes.

-[Tina] Hi, everybody. Come on in.
-[man] Hello.

[indistinct chatter]

[Kanye] We flew all the way to see her.
She makes these from scratch, herself.

It's beautiful. Oh, wow, this is nice.

We know how to do it now.

[Coodie]
Hey, let me say "peace" to your pops.

Peace. How you doing, Pops?
How's it going, man?

This is Coodie, man.

Yes, sir. I've been around with Ye
from the beginning, brother.

Yes, sir. Pleasure. Pleasure.

Respect to you. Yes, sir.

He did the "Through the Wire" video.
He did a bunch of it. First documentary.

He's got some good videos.

Yo, let's send what you made to my dad.

[Coodie] Yeah, yeah. For sure.

[Kanye] Uh…

-Jean. Cody.
-[Coodie] Yes.

-It's Coodie.
-[Coodie] Coodie.

-Coodie.
-I say, "Cody," but that is Coodie.

-Wait. So, wait. You say Cody or Coodie?
-[Coodie] Coodie.

-Coodie.
-[Coodie] C-O-O-D-I-E.

So, got it. It's "Coo" not "Co."
Got it. Okay.

[Coodie] That's my father's nickname.

-Got it. Okay.
-[Coodie] So, yeah.

These are my cushions.
They always flatten…

We have to beat Apple. We have to beat
Disney and Ford, but we'll make it,

because of our connections with Adidas,
our connections with GAP,

but, more than anything,
our connection with God.

So, I just feel like this crew
that's coming together,

it's going to change education,
change sanitation, change meditation,

change the way we think
and connect with Earth,

the way we connect with God.

[song plays over stereo]
♪ I thought I had it all together ♪

♪ But I was led astray ♪

You hear what he's saying?
Did you hear what he say?

[all speaking indistinctly]

♪ I thought I had it all together ♪

♪ But I was led astray
But I was led astray ♪

[Tucker] He launched his campaign
at a rally in South Carolina last night.

His remarks were not focus-grouped.

There weren't a lot of
platitudes or clichés.

They were as unusual, in fact,
as eccentric as the man himself.

But, in some ways, they were remarkable
and worth watching.

[man] He's talking about Trump.

[Kanye over video]
Freedom does not come from an election.

But freedom comes from
you not loading up pornography.

The freedom comes from you
not taking the Percocet.

The freedom comes from you
not doubting your brothers and sisters.

The freedom comes from you
putting that gun down

and not shooting people
at the gas station!

[man] We have to go through all this
and talk about what you said,

as I had to take Percocet
because I'm in pain.

[Kanye over video] …and God's people.

[Tucker] Huh.

A celebrity musician telling you
that freedom does not come from porn

or drugs or pulling a gun on people.

It comes from God.

He said a lot of things, by the way.

Some of them we wouldn't
agree with at all.

[man] What's his name?
What's this white boy name?

The white boy talking.

[Tucker] …to any woman who has a baby.
But it was interesting.

And maybe the most arresting moment came

when Kanye West talked about abortion.
Watch this.

-[man] It's Tucker Carlson.
-[Kanye] Let me hear it.

[Kanye over video]
My dad wanted to abort me.

My mom saved my life.

There would have been no Kanye West
because my dad was too busy!

I almost killed my daughter!

Even if my wife were to divorce me
after this speech,

she brought North into the world.

She protected that child.

[Tucker] No speechwriter wrote that.

And it's a dangerous point,
if you think about it.

They can say they love you,
they can tell you your life matters.

[man]
Stop listening to this man. It's negative.

This is facts, bro!

[man] He's negative!

He's taking your words out of context.

No. He's putting them in context!
He's putting them in context.

[Tucker] Instead, TMZ reported
that many people in Kanye West's circle

believe he needs, "serious help."

Then sent in an anonymous
family member to explain

that he's experiencing a bipolar episode.

And by the way, maybe he is.
We don't know.

But it doesn't mean what he said is wrong.

-[Kanye] Boom! [exclaims]
-[man] Right!

Okay, okay.

I agree.

[Tucker] Call him crazy
before anyone can pay attention!

[exclaiming]

[man] All right.

-[laughs]
-[man] I stand corrected.

And we stand!
We don't need them no more. We stand now!

[Tucker continues indistinctly]

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

What I'm realizing now is that every part
of Kanye makes him who he is.

Even with everything that's changed,
I still see so much of the person

I first put my camera on 21 years ago.

We haven't always seen eye-to-eye.

But for me, and I hope for him,

each step of this journey
has been a new awakening.

♪ …Don't matter the day ♪

♪ Don't matter the day ♪

[singing indistinctly]

♪ I'm doing this to get us all free ♪

♪ I'm stoked to be President
I'm the Pope, nigga ♪

♪ I'm just doing this
'Cause my niggas on a rope, nigga ♪

♪ Whoo! And it's on me ♪

♪ 13 Amendment, that's on me ♪

♪ I'm just doing this
To get us all free ♪

♪ I'm just doing this
To get us all free ♪

♪ You wanna play with the NBA
Motherfucker… ♪

[continues indistinctly]

I don't think anybody
in the history of hip-hop

who had the culture
in their palms like Kanye West.

What is going on with Kanye?

Well, he has dropped out of
the presidential election.

-He's not done yet.
-Kanye 2024

Kanye is worth
more than 6 billion dollars.

Twenty-year partnership with GAP.

Kim Kardashian filing for divorce.

What is it about Kanye?

Everything he touches turns to gold.

We don't wanna throw Kanye away…

The guy who was doing The College Dropout…

Mr. Kanye West, the genius.

[choir] ♪ For a chance to be with you ♪

[audience chanting]
Kanye! Kanye! Kanye!

[Coodie]
Dear God, I just wanna thank you.

Sometimes we might not understand
the chaos we have to go through,

but we trust that beauty awaits us
on the other side.

[reporter 1] Kanye's long-awaited
tenth studio album,

said to be a testament
to his late mother, Donda.

[reporter 2] Kanye West is temporarily
living inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

[Coodie]
You are the author of our lives.

And I want to thank you for using me
as a tool to tell this story.

With your grace, we were able
to turn our pain into our power.

But some wounds have lingered
longer than others.

Yo, we're on our way…

to the Mercedes Benz Stadium.

[Coodie] The answers are always there

when we take the time to quiet ourselves

and listen to the angels
that you place in our lives.

[Donda] I was thinking about something

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

The giant looks in the mirror
and sees nothing.

[chuckles]

You know what I mean?

Kanye, thank you for being
just an outstanding son.

[Kanye] It's crazy how different it looks.

It seems so much bigger than you

when I used to picture it, you know?

[Donda exclaims and laughs]

If you remember to stay on the ground,

then you can be in the air
all at the same time.

That's what I think it means when he says

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

Everybody else sees the giant.

[Coodie] Thank you, Father God,

for blessing us all

with Your genius.

In Your Holy Name, we pray.

Amen.

["Like a Ship" playing]

♪ Just like a ship ♪

♪ Without a sail ♪

♪ Without a sail ♪

♪ Just like a ship ♪

♪ Just like a ship ♪

♪ Lord knows I don't have a sail ♪

♪ Without a sail ♪

♪ Hey, hey, but I know ♪

♪ But I know we can take it ♪

♪ Yeah, I know ♪

♪ But I know we can take it ♪

♪ I know we can shake it ♪

♪ But I know we can take it ♪

♪ I know we can take it ♪

♪ But I know we can take it ♪