The 4 biggest moments from 'Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye trilogy' part one

The first episode of "Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye trilogy" opens in 2020 in the Dominican Republic and Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) is in the middle of a recording session for his latest album "Donda." As Ye freestyles furiously over a beat, attempting to conjure up a verse, the documentary jumps back in time to 1998, the start of the rapper's career and the making of his first album "The College Dropout."

At the time, Ye — who was only known for his work as a music producer — had been struggling to get members of the music industry to take him seriously as a rapper.

At one point during the first episode, Ye and his associates enter the offices of Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records in a move that was described as "bum-rushing" by Clarence "Coodie" Simmons — the film's director and narrator — and Ye travels throughout the office building playing an early version of his 2004 single "All Falls Down" for staff.

Ye also performs the song live for the staff in the building.

At the tail end of the first episode, Ye returns to his mother's home in Chicago. The pair discuss Ye's childhood and his current success as a music producer when Donda West recalls a set of early lyrics from a song by Ye that she says is her favorite.

"I walk through the halls of the school, and it's cool to be known for my rapping ability, but what about the brothers who ain't got it like me," Donda West raps, and Ye quickly joins her.

The pair continue to perform the entire verse — which, according to Genuis.com, is from an unreleased song written by Ye as a teenager.

In the late 1990s, an underground record label called Rawkus Records that was partially funded by the Murdoch family became the home of hip-hop's "conscious rappers" — that is, rap artists who discuss sociopolitical themes in their music — after it snapped up artists such as Mos Def and Talib Kweli to record contracts.

In "Jeen-Yuhs," we see a representative for Rawkus Records attempting to court Ye to sign a recording contract with Rawkus Records instead of Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. At the time, Ye had a close working relationship with Mos Def and Talib Kweli, both of whom appeared on his debut album.

Despite producing several songs on Jay-Z's blockbuster 2001 album "The Blueprint," Ye had still been struggling to convince Roc-A-Fella Records to take a chance on him. The senior management team at Rawkus Records eventually decides not to sign Ye, and he continues his quest to find representation.

After failing to secure a recording contract with Rawkus Records, Ye restarts work on his debut album, and in an attempt to raise buzz around the album, tries to enlist the rapper Scarface who, at the time, was one of the most popular rap artists in the world, to feature on the record.

The documentary shows the pair — who previously collaborated on Jay-Z's 2000 "This Can't Be Life" and the singles "Guess Who's Back" and "Heaven" from Scarface's 2002 project "The Fix" — in the studio. Ye plays Scarface an early version of "Jesus Walks," and asks him whether he will feature on the song's chorus.

Scarface asks Kanye to share another song and he plays "Family Business." Ye freestyle raps the song's first verse, which Scarface describes as "incredible."

Scarface leaves the studio to work on his verses but never makes it back to officially record the songs. Both singles eventually appeared on Ye's debut album "The College Dropout" without features.