INDY RAP ART

Episode iii: AWAKENING – Review

by Gabrielle Lamontagne

The final episode of this documentary trilogy is both more alike the first episode and completely different from the rest of the series. Stylistically and focus-wise, this episode is similar to the first episode because it discusses Kanye West’s home life, his struggles to obtain success, and his public appearance. However, it is also completely different because it turns inward to discuss the personal life of the narrator in more depth, especially how parenthood affected his life and his sadness at the distance in his relationship with Kanye, and it also deals majorly with the topic of mental health difficulties and the stigma surrounding such issues – especially in terms of celebrity media coverage.

It’s a well-told and fascinating aspect of Kanye West’s story that is definitively “behind-the-scenes”. It’s interesting to see how Kanye West changed due to his celebrity success, and then again due to depression from personal-life issues. Other musicians even commented on how his music and lyrics had changed from the “real” quality that they had when he was “up-and-coming”.

Actually, I most enjoyed the parts of this episode that focused on the narrator’s life and the footage (and his commentary) of his daughter growing up. She seems like an awesome kid and I admired his heart-felt remarks about parenthood and family. He tied it in well with what was going on in Kanye West’s life at the time and how he felt about what his friend was going through.

I’m sure that fans of Kanye West will truly enjoy this classic documentary about the ultra famous Rap/Hip-Hop artist.