Netflix Buys Kanye West Docuseries 21 Years In The Making For $30M

This doc has been in the works since before the birth of Yeezy.

Netflix has reportedly shelled out $30 million for a decades-in-the-making documentary about Kanye West, Billboard first reported Tuesday.

The still-untitled project is the work of Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah — also known as Coodie & Chike — who worked with West, 43, early in his career. The pair directed two of West’s first music videos, “Through the Wire” and the third version of “Jesus Walks.”

The two have been documenting the billionaire rapper’s life for over 20 years, and it has truly paid off: A source told Billboard that the streaming giant acquired their project from Time Studios for over $30 million. Another insider, however, informed Variety that this “is not an accurate figure,” although the publication offered no further comment regarding if the figure was too high or low.

The 21-year documentary will be presented as a multipart series and is set to become available on Netflix later this year, according to Billboard. The docuseries — which will be produced by the duo’s Creative Control company, an Emmy-winning subsidiary of Time — will charter West’s ascension to the top of the charts, his relationship with his mother, Donda West, his reaction to her death, unseen home video footage and clips of him in Chicago in the 1990s. The series will cover his failed 2020 presidential run as well as the impact of fame on him — and his fame on the world. It is unclear if it will delve into West’s ongoing divorce from Kim Kardashian or keep its focus on his early life and career.

West will not be involved in the production, another source told Billboard, but he has given Coodie & Chike his implied consent for them to move forward with the project by way of granting them access to his life for the past 21 years.

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