There’s a lot to unpack from Kanye West’s documentary Jeen-Yuhs, but among the most important is Beyonce’s surprise cameo.
The Gold Digger rapper’s rise to fame is being told in a three-part Netflix docuseries, charting his unrelenting mission to get signed to Jay Z’s Roc-A-Fella record label, his infamous car crash and the release of his debut album The College Dropout.
It has so far been filled with multiple cameos from Dame Dash to Pharrell Williams, Jamie Foxx and Ludacris, but fans just can’t get over Beyonce’s sneaky appearance in a truly blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment.
Towards the end of episode one, Kanye is filmed backstage at Jay Z’s concert in his hometown of Chicago.
It was August 2002 and fans will remember it as the iconic night Ye received his Roc-A-Fella chain, cementing his place in hip hop royalty and confirming his signing to the Roc. As cameraman Coodie Simmons captures all the bustling backstage action, he casually pans over to Beyonce chatting to friends, looking fresh-faced and clearly in her Destiny’s Child era sporting braids.
She briefly catches the camera and locks eyes before Coodie pans away.
It’s interesting because at the time, there were only rumours about Beyonce and Jay Z dating but this is proof they were definitely closer than close all along. For context, the power couple released their first collaboration, ‘03 Bonnie & Clyde, later that year before getting married in 2008 and going on to have three children; Blue Ivy, 10, and four-year-old twins Rumi and Sir.
Reacting to queen Bey’s short cameo, one Jeen-Yuhs viewer tweeted: ‘Love how the camera brushes past Beyoncé like she’s some groupie.’