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'', 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", which won
Best Rap Song at the
47th Annual Grammy Awards, and "
New Slaves", taken from West's sixth studio album ''
Yeezus'' (2013).
Career
Born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Rhymefest started off
battle rapping at events such as JumpOff and ScribbleJam against acts like
Eminem and Chalk. Smith co-wrote "
Glory" alongside
John Legend 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 ...
, for the 2014 motion picture ''
Selma''. The song received the 2014
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song 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 ...
. 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'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 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 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. 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 to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialecti ...
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 discover ...
, rowspan="2", ''
Jesus Walks''
(as songwriter)
,
Song of the Year
,
, -
, ,
Best Rap Song
,
, -
, ,
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 wa ...
, "
New Slaves"
(as songwriter)
, ,
Best Rap Song
,
, -
, rowspan="2",
2016
, rowspan="2", ''
Glory''
(as songwriter)
, ,
Best Rap Song
,
, -
,
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''
* 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)
* 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