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Finding Yeezus is a new documentary series that centers on the mystery of Kanye Quest 3030, an unlicensed fan RPG that hid a secret ending – and led some to believe it was part of a cult recruiting campaign.

Starting September 26, and broadcasting weekly on Grouse House (a webseries channel set up by Australian comedy group Aunty Donna), the show is hosted by comedians Alexei Toliopoulos and Cameron James. In their podcasts Finding Drago and Finding Desperado, the two have previously delved into mysteries about unapproved Rocky sequels and lost world-record movies, but this is the first time they’ve covered a game topic.

“There’s something so exciting about a video game mystery,” Toliopoulos tells me via email, “it just feels so present tense to us. In the video game field, it feels less like trying to look back and more like discovering an urban legend that is forming now.”

It is a legend told almost ten years ago. Toliopoulos explains how he and James discovered the mystery and what prompted them to solve it:

Uploaded almost anonymously to the internet in 2013, Kanye Quest 3030 was a simple Pokemon-style RPG where you play as Kanye West and other famous rappers are rapping. Because of the humor and premise, it became a bit of a light viral sensation Then it disappeared like these things do…that was until 2 years later a hidden level was discovered in the game.

“If you prove you’re worthy (by solving a few cryptic puzzles), the game admits that everything you’ve been through up to that point was a front. With the promise of ‘Ascension’, the game reaches you into the real life. This has led many to believe that the game was a recruiting tool for a new age cult called Ascensionism. It’s such a fascinating mystery! I remember playing the game years ago but only discovered the mystery late 2020 when we just finished making Finding Desperado and started getting the itch to challenge ourselves with something even bigger to unravel.”

It quickly became a much bigger mystery than the pair’s previous work — thus their evolution from inquisitive podcasters to on-screen hosts. The effort has seemingly been worth it – there have been numerous investigations into Kanye Quest over the years, but Toliopoulos and James open the first episode by saying that the mystery has never really been solved until now.

“The true story of Kanye Quest and the cult of ascensionism is revealed in the latest episode of Finding Yeezus,” said Toliopoulos. “We’ve become pretty good investigators since our early days as journalism dropouts.”

“The true story of Kanye Quest and the cult of ascensionism is revealed in the latest episode.”


But the key to Finding Yeezus and the hosts’ previous podcasts is that it’s as much a comedy as it is an investigation. Toliopoulos and James tend to pick mysteries on the crazier, weirder side of things, but they make it clear that the comedy in the show is built around the real investigation – you don’t see them coming up with something to laugh about answers:

“We are obsessive researchers and discovering the story is a really organic process,” explains Toliopoulos. “For us, it’s all about the fun of exploration and finding the emotional connection that sparks curiosity. Documentaries have so much to plan before you start filming, but the excitement comes from the surprise that the final product is almost completely different from what we expected. It’s hard to anticipate real life! It’s all about finding the story in reality and for us it’s also about building in the comedy.”

After watching the first two episodes myself, Finding Yeezus turns out to be as funny as it is intriguing, with a higher twist-per-minute ratio than I realistically expected. There’s a real joy behind it, too – in a culture of documentary making that so often reveals the darkest parts of modern life, it’s nice to find something that just wants to enjoy how weird and interesting people can be. At least… until now.

Finding Yeezus kicks off next Monday, September 26 exclusively on the Grouse House YouTube channel. There will be a total of six episodes, weekly on Mondays until a finale on Tuesday, October 25.

Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. He thinks Finding Drago might be the best podcast ever made, and you should listen to it. follow him Twitter.