Che Smith (born July 6, 1977),
better known by his stage name Rhymefest, is an American rapper from Chicago whose first official album, ''
Blue Collar
A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...
'', was released in 2006. His prominent songwriting credits include co-writing
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
's "
Jesus Walks
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
", which won
Best Rap Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several ...
at the
47th Annual Grammy Awards
The 47th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2005, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004. They were hosted by Queen Lati ...
, and "
New Slaves", taken from West's sixth studio album ''
Yeezus
''Yeezus'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on June 18, 2013, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West gathered a number of artists and close collaborators for the production, ...
'' (2013).
Career
Born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Rhymefest started off
battle rap
Battle rap (also known as rap battling)Edwards, Paul, 2009, p. 25. is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults and wordplay. Battle rap is often performed or freestyled spontaneously in live ...
ping at events such as JumpOff and ScribbleJam against acts like
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
and Chalk. Smith co-wrote "
Glory" alongside
John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...
and
Common
Common may refer to:
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Clapham Common, originally com ...
, for the 2014 motion picture ''
Selma
Selma may refer to:
Places
*Selma, Algeria
*Selma, Nova Scotia, Canada
*Selma, Switzerland, village in the Grisons
United States:
*Selma, Alabama, city in Dallas County, best known for the Selma to Montgomery marches
*Selma, Arkansas
*Selma, Cali ...
''. The song received the 2014
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...
and the 2014
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...
. Che has expanded his gifts beyond the borders of music. The subject of a Showtime and Break Thru Films documentary "In My Father's House", Rhymefest purchased the childhood home of his estranged Father only to find that he'd been homeless for most of Che's life, Rhymefest then embarks on a journey to reconnect and redeem their relationship. Rhymefest's film debut was in
Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez (; born May 12, 1962) is an American actor and filmmaker.
He is the son of actor Martin Sheen and the older brother of Charlie Sheen. Emilio Estevez started his career as an actor and is known for being a member of the acting Br ...
's 2018 film
''The Public''. Fest played "Big George", starring alongside Alec Baldwin, Gabrielle Union, Taylor Shilling, Michael K. Williams, Christian Slater, and more. Rhymefest has revealed that he will be releasing an album soon titled ''Love Lessons Pt. 1''. The track "OG Philosophy" featuring
Black Thought
Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, actor and the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group the Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove (Ahmir Thompson). Regarded ...
and
Raheem DeVaughn was released in early 2020.
Politics
In October 2010, Smith announced his candidacy for Chicago's
20th ward alderman. He placed second in the February 22, 2011, election, and was defeated by incumbent
Willie Cochran
Willie B. Cochran (born 1953) is an American politician and former Chicago Police Department officer. Cochran served as alderman of Chicago, Illinois' 20th Ward from 2007 until 2019. Early life, education and career
Cochran was born one of ten c ...
in the April 5, 2011, runoff election, getting 45.4% of the vote to Cochran's 54.6%.
He hosted a "Truth & Reconciliation" event series to enhance awareness about gun violence in Chicago.
Art of Culture (formerly Donda's House)
Rhymefest is Executive Director and co-Founder of
Donda's House, Inc., now renamed Art of Culture, Inc. The organization was originally named after
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
's mother
Donda West
Donda C. West ( Williams; July 12, 1949 – November 10, 2007) was an American professor and chair of Chicago State University's Department of English, Communications, Media and Theater. She was the mother of rapper Kanye West, Ye, better known ...
. Artists who were accepted into Donda's House included Hex Hectic.
Personal life
Rhymefest has three children. He is married to Heather Michele Smith. He is
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
.
Che Guevara namesake
Che Smith, named for the
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
revolutionary
Che Guevara
Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
, addressed the matter, stating:
Awards and nominations
Grammy Awards
, -
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2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, rowspan="2", ''
Jesus Walks
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
''
(as songwriter)
,
Song of the Year
,
, -
, ,
Best Rap Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several ...
,
, -
, ,
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, "
New Slaves"
(as songwriter)
, ,
Best Rap Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several ...
,
, -
, rowspan="2",
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, rowspan="2", ''
Glory''
(as songwriter)
, ,
Best Rap Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several ...
,
, -
,
Best Song Written for Visual Media
The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media.
Recipients
* Each year is linked t ...
,
Discography
Albums
* 2006: ''
Blue Collar
A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...
''
* 2010: ''
El Che''
Singles
* 1996: "This Is How We Chill (Pts. 1 & 2)"
* 2005: "Dirty Dirty" (Featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard)
* 2006: "
Brand New" (featuring
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
) #38 Ireland, #32 UK
* 2006: "Dynomite (Going Postal)"
* 2006: "Fever"
* 2006: "Wanted"
* 2007: "Angry Black Man on the Elevator" (featuring
Lil Jon
Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cru ...
)
* 2009: "Chicago"
Mixtapes
* 2004: ''Brand New''
* 2005: ''A Star Is Born, Vol. 1''
* 2006: ''Plugg City: City on My Back''
* 2008: ''Mark Ronson Presents: Man in the Mirror''
* 2009: ''El Che: The Manual Mixtape''
* 2010: ''Dangerous: 5-18''
* 2010: ''Man in the Mirror 2.0''
References
External links
Rhymefest's official site*
by Craig Lindsey
Rhymefest: Hip-Hop Is Scared of Revolution?– interview by Ismael AbduSalaam
Interview on The World Music Foundation Podcast
{{Authority control
1977 births
African-American male rappers
African-American Muslims
Allido Records artists
Columbia College Chicago alumni
Grammy Award winners for rap music
Living people
Rappers from Chicago
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American people