Rhymefest

Che Smith (born July 6, 1977), known by the stage name of Rhymefest, is an American hip hop artist from Chicago, Illinois whose first official album, Blue Collar, was released on July 11, 2006. He co-wrote Kanye West's "Jesus Walks", which won a Grammy at the 47th Grammy Awards. Rhymefest is signed to Mark Ronson's Allido Records.

Notable television appearances

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Fest was seen on the MTV show Punk'd when Kanye West was the subject of a practical joke on the set of his second music video for "Jesus Walks." Rhymefest was the first to greet West as he stepped out of a van after it had been revealed to him that he had just been "Punk'd." Rhymefest was on the set of the video to give his input as he co-wrote the track. Also appeared on TRL along with Kanye West and other stars introducing new artists to the game such as Pharrell Williams introducing Robin Thicke.

Rhymefest was also featured heavily on the episode of the VH1 show Driven that dealt with the life story of Kanye West as told by his family, friends and colleagues. They met as 15 year-olds in Chicago and have been close friends ever since.

Rhymefest guest starred in an episode of the second season of Nick Cannon's Wild 'N Out on MTV, originally aired on Thursday, February 23, 2006. During the "Wildstyle" segment of the show, Fest freestyled to Nick Cannon, "The black team, a real hard team to deal with, what the hell is this? A little baby Will Smith? I don't understand, by all accounts, Nick Cannon, get out of here, you need to Roll... Bounce!" After that, in response to a rap about his lisp, he rapped, "Yeah I got a lisp, I understand this, but why you look like a piece of big Suge Knight's shit? I don't understand, wait a minute, don't buzz me, Celie from The Color Purple, 'You sho is ugly!'" He also performed "Brand New" with Kanye West on the episode.

"Brand New" was featured on the series premiere of the MTV program 8th & Ocean. It was being played in the Miami club Privé while Britt danced with Adrian.

Fest appeared on Chicago PBS station's local affairs program Chicago Tonight as the first rap artist ever on the program.

Appears in puppet form and performs the new Crank Yankers theme song.

Appeared on an episode of Chancers with Matthew Knowles.

Appeared on an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly, where he performed his single "Fever". Instead of reciting the third verse, he broke into a freestyle about Carson and people in the audience.

Rhymefest the Goodwill Hip Hop Ambassador

On October 19, 2006, Rhymefest met with the United Kingdom's Parliamentary Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron of the Conservative Party. They discussed the issue of violent rap lyrics which Cameron had highlighted as a problem and they both agreed that hip hop music should not be banned, but that rappers should portray the positive side of life in their music. According to the London Metro, Rhymefest treated the British politician to a performance in his House of Commons office and even invited him to venture with him to a nightclub. However this was turned down by Cameron due to his busy schedule.

Homophobia and criticism

Released on April 6, 2009 in anticipation of his up coming album El Che, Rhymefest's mixtape El Che: The Manual received praise for its inventive update of old school boom bap and solid production by Scram Jones, as well as criticism for its homophobic content.^[1] An example for this is "Super Sonic (Chunky Cheese)", a diss track directed at Charles Hamilton in which he referred the rapper as "...a fag with the gayest swag...", as well as poking fun at his signature pink headphones. Addressing the new tone and subject matter that has not appeared in his work in the past he states on "Native Tongue Medley Pt 3" that he "wasn't ever homophobic till recently".

Discography

Albums

• 2006: Blue Collar
• 2009: El Che

Singles

• 1997: "This Is How We Chill (Pts. 1 & 2)"
• 2006: "These Days"
• 2006: "Brand New" (featuring Kanye West) #32 UK
• 2006: "Dynomite (Going Postal)"
• 2006: "Fever"
• 2006: "Wanted"
• 2007: "Angry Black Man on the Elevator" (featuring Lil Jon) ^[2]
• 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

References

External links

• Rhymefest's official site
• Rhymefest at MySpace
• Rhymefest discography at MusicBrainz
• Rhymefest's Revolution by Craig Lindsey