Yet, if the episode teaches us anything, it’s just how much West experienced in the buildup to his debut album. From there, West, the rap star, seemed all but inevitable. Though portions of it have lived on the internet for years, the scene of Jay-Z helping West record his verse for “ The Bounce” on 2002’s Blueprint 2 album is a seminal opportunity that cannot be understated. Related Story Virgil Abloh’s incredible fashion legacy Read now So, much like in the first episode, the rib-sticking moments show West’s tireless efforts to prove his worth to anyone who could take his career to the next level. He wanted the reverence that Jay-Z, Eminem or Outkast received. The term “producer-rapper,” in West’s eyes, was a form of disrespect. What mattered more was the respect that came with being a rapper. He loved the opportunities production provided him. Jeen-yuhs, directed by Chike Ozah and masterfully narrated by Clarence “Coodie” Simmons, shows us West’s frustrations in trying to be heard. He did, however, have something important to say.

Most looked at him and figured he wouldn’t bust a grape in a fruit fight. No one was mistaking West for the next Beanie Sigel. This was the barrier West, a producer from Chicago, faced in his earliest days at Roc-A-Fella. It was also largely street-oriented, with acts such as Peedi Crakk, Beanie Sigel and, of course, Jay-Z, who was already a superstar. Its sound, fashion and texture were influential well beyond its base in the Northeast. Known as “The Roc,” the label founded by Jay-Z, Damon Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke was the gold standard of impactful crews. Let’s place in context what rap - in particular Roc-A-Fella Records - looked like at that moment. Related Story ‘jeen-yuhs’ reminds us of the Kanye West we used to love Read now Roc-A-Fella produced the soundtrack album along with Def Jam Recordings. “I feel like we about to go 10 million with what I’m ’bout to say right now,” West said at an October 2002 news conference Roc-A-Fella Records was holding for the release of the film Paid in Full. The beauty of episode two is that it focuses on the years 2002 to early 2005. That reckoning figures to be the crux of the third and final installment next week. Watching this deep look into the creation of West, the man and eventual superstar, has been trippy, at best, and traumatic at worst, especially witnessing his current iteration. Even if you disagree, the second episode of Netflix’s jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy is a masterful defense of why it is his most necessary. Kanye West’s debut album, The College Dropout, is his magnum opus.

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