Watch Video: Rapper Kanye West legally changes his name to 'Ye'

Looking back at the 20-year career arc of any musician would be revelatory.

But when that artist is Kanye West, its compelling, confusing and maddening. In other words, pretty much on brand.

Those looking for salacious details about the recently rebranded Yes celebrity lifestyle or explosiveKardashian drama wont find it here. Instead, jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy is a fascinating plunge into his relentless drive to succeed, his wavering friendships and the toll of mental illness.

DirectorsClarence Coodie Simmons started filming Ye in 2002 to document his signing to Roc-A-Fella Records and met Chike Ozah, a producer on MTV's You Heard It First, shortly after.

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Their film, which premiered Sunday at Sundance Film Festival and arrives on Netflix Feb. 16, is divided into three 90-minute acts: Vision, Purpose and Awakening.

Early on, Ye, now 44, saysdoing a documentary at the embryonic stage of his career shift from producer to rapper is a little narcissistic.

That self-awareness would, over the years, become clouded by hordes of enablers and adoring fans. The death of Yes beloved mother, Donda, caused a shift in molecules that Simmons captures withheartbreaking clarity.

He didnt seem like the same Kanye. We hardly ever spoke, Simmons says in a voiceoverexplaining a gap in footage from 2008 to 2014. Yes team told the filmmaker that there was no room for him to accompany the superstar on his Glow in the Dark tour.

But a call from Common askingSimmons to film his 2014 Aahh!Fest in Chicago proved fortuitous:Ye was booked as a surprise guest.As much as Simmons anticipated reuniting with his friend, it wasnt without trepidation.

It made me nervous because I knew Kanye, but Id never met Yeezy, Simmons says.

The pair renewed their friendship, and in 2017, he returned to filming the superstar.

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Simmons and Ozah have describedjeen-yuhs as a film rather than adocumentary. Its a notable distinction because there are no talking head interviews or footage other than Simmons' raw takes, aside from a few quick-cutscenes that include a Kardashian red carpet photo op andYes MTV Awards disruptionwith Taylor Swift.

Simmons'footage, culled from 330 hours of video, is unflinching. He thought the documentary was completed at various points in Yes life. But there was always another chapter.

This one ends with the rappers idiosyncratic unveiling of his Donda albumin Atlantalast summer, with his limp body being raised through the opening in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium roof at the end of the presentation.

Perhaps it was meant to symbolize a new beginning. But first, here are some jeen-yuhs highlights from the past.

After a twentysomething Ye teases his mother about the bottle of Zinfandel in her refrigerator, she notices the gold cherub hanging from his neck. You need an angel to watch over you, she says, flashing one of her infectious gap-toothed smiles.

The love and ease between West and her son is showcased in the most mundane moments, but its particularly sweet watching her rap Like Son, Like Mother beside him in her kitchen.

West is Yes compass and Simmons captures her dispensing poignant advice. A giant looks in the mirror and sees nothing, she tells him. Stay on the ground, but you can be in the air at the same time.

West died in 2007from heart failure following complications from cosmetic surgery.

I could tell Kanye was grieving, but he kept working, he refused to stop, Simmons says.

Ye never talks about his mothers death on camera, but there is a rare interaction captured with his father, Ray West.Following Yes admittance to a hospital for a psychological evaluation and his inflammatory 2020 presidential campaign speech about abortion, he is shown FaceTiming with his dad.

When you go out and say things like no abortion, you know how the medias going to be, Ye tells his dad. Thats a very strong Christian statement, and Christians are scrutinized and killed for our beliefs and following the word of God. And I use my voice and I wont not use my voice.

His father pauses. I would just say, write your speech next time.

Simmons was there after Ye, having justlanded a verse on Jay-Zs track The Bounce," crashed his car and broke his jaw in three places.

I was afraid hed never rap again, Simmons says.

But, as Ye lore goes, his ambition to finish his debut album, The College Dropout, couldnt be halted by having his mouth wired shut; instead, Ye had his first hit, Through the Wire.

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Simmons camera accompanies the rapper to the dentist (look away, needle-phobes) to have his wiring removed, but the bigger story is Yes capacity to continue working. Jamie Foxx, Ludacris and John Legend are enlisted to join Ye in the studio to restart the momentum behind his debut, which arrived in 2004 to massive success, including a Grammy Award for best rap album.

By the third act of jeen-yuhs, Ye is designing sneakersandembracing Christianity with the advent ofhis Sunday Service concerts.

Ye also retreats to his Wyoming ranch, where Justin Bieber is among those in the giant garage/studio, laying down vocals and listening to Yes numerous soliloquies.

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Its apparent as the film rolls on that Yes medications have slowed his speech his voice sounds deeper and more deliberate and Simmons is aware and respectful of his friends challenges.

A 2020 meeting with real estate friends in the Dominican Republic turns into a diatribe, even though Ye tells them, I took bipolar medication last night to have a normal conversation.

But the rappers discourse becomes so scattered, Simmons stops filming.

It was hard to tell how he was feeling, Simmons says. No matter what he was going through, he always buried himself in his work.

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What Kanye West documentary 'jeen-yuhs' reveals about Ye's mother, music and mental illness - USA TODAY