Kanye West documentary series heading to Netflix

If you miss the old Kanye, you’re about to see a lot more of him. In a new partnership that may go down as the most expensive documentary ever sold, Kanye West has reportedly made a $30 million deal with Netflix for the rights to a documentary series that has been two decades in the making.

According to Billboard, Netflix recently acquired the rights to a documentary series about West that includes never before seen personal footage from the past 21 years of the rapper and fashion designer’s private life. Forbes is reporting that part of the massive $30 million price tag includes the streaming rights for West’s music, which will be heard in the documentary. Even with streaming and the heightened popularity of West, if the deal did go through for $30 million, it would make the project one of, if not the highest selling docu-series ever made.

The upcoming docu-series, which is scheduled to be released on Netflix sometime this year, will follow the past two decades of West’s career and personal life. The series will include his rise in the music and fashion world, the death of his mother Donda West, and even his recent attempt to run for President of the United States. It’s unclear how much if any part of the documentary will focus on West’s relationship with soon-to-be ex-wife Kim Kardashian and their four children.

The project will be spearheaded by music producers Clarence Simmons and Chike Ozah a.k.a. Coodie & Chike. The pair have previously worked with West on one of the versions of his “Jesus Walks” music video and his video for “Through the Wire”. Both songs appeared on West’s 2004 debut album College Dropout, which earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year and won for Best Rap Album.

Coodie & Chike have previously expanded beyond music videos to make a 30 for 30 ESPN documentary about Benjamin Wilson in 2012. In 2019, the pair also released the documentary A Kid From Coney Island about Stephon Marbury. According to High Snobriety, West will not have creative control of the documentary, which in a very un-Kanye West move will fall to Coodie & Chike. The project will be produced by Creative Control and TIME Studio.

Netflix already has an impressive lineup of music documentaries, including projects from Ariana Grande, Notorious B.I.G., Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Shawn Mendes, BLACKPINK, Nina Simone, Quincy Jones and more. Apple recently released their Billie Eilish documentary The World’s A Little Blurry, which at $25 million still comes in behind the rumoured price tag for West’s latest project.

West was in the news earlier this week when he and his estranged wife Kim Kardashian both made the Forbes list of the world’s top billionaires. Kardashian’s KKW beauty line and SKIMS apparel, as well as her TV deals, including an upcoming project with Hulu, helped her pass the $1 billion mark this year. Several outlets reported earlier this year that West’s fortune, which stems from his deals with Adidas, Gap and his music royalties, is close to $6.6 billion. The new Forbes list puts Yeezy closer to $1.8 billion. Either way, that’s a lot of commas.

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