While Kanye West, who has changed his legal name to Ye, is best recognized today as an ultra-famous rapper and a polarizing public figure, his origins as a producer for the likes of Jay-Z, Mos Def, and Lil’ Kim can’t be overlooked. In fact, it’s West’s tireless quest to be taken seriously as a rapper and not just a producer that provides rich fodder for Jeen-Yuhs, Netflix’s three-part documentary about the artist. (Jeen-Yuhs is produced by TIME Studios, the film and television division of TIME.)
For as hard as he worked to break free of being boxed in as a producer, there’s no denying that West’s production skills were—and still are—exceptional. And while West manifested the career as a rapper that he always dreamed of (with 22 Grammy wins to date), over the course of his nearly three decades in the music industry, his production has still had an outsized influence on the sound of the zeitgeist, both through his own albums and others’.
In an exclusive clip that didn’t make the final cut of Jeen-Yuhs, West the producer is seen in full force. During the time that this scene was filmed in the summer of 2017, he was hard at work producing five albums under his GOOD Music label, including Teyana Taylor’s K.T.S.E., an album that’s now widely regarded as one of R&B’s new classics.
In the clip, West is seen working in the studio with Taylor on the song “Cold Blooded,” which was ultimately left out of the album. He strips the song completely of its old beat, then creates a new one from scratch in a matter of minutes. It’s an illuminating look at his artistic process.
Watch the clip in full, above.
Jeen-Yuhs premiered on Netflix beginning Feb. 16. Twenty-four years in the making, this documentary about Kanye West was directed by Coodie & Chike, from TIME Studios and Creative Control.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Trump’s Message Worked on Latino Men
- What Trump’s Win Could Mean for Housing
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Sleep Doctors Share the 1 Tip That’s Changed Their Lives
- Column: Let’s Bring Back Romance
- What It’s Like to Have Long COVID As a Kid
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Write to Cady Lang at cady.lang@timemagazine.com