Interview: Rhymefest – (6/25/10)

Four years after the release of his debut album, Blue Collar, Che Smith, more commonly known as Rhymefest, is back on record store shelves with his Sophomore LP, El Che.

HipHopAtLunch.com met up with Rhymefest at Fat Beats in NYC to speak about the El Che album, his viral music videos, and the new Chicago super-group, Blacksploitation.

Blacksploitation’s upcoming project, The DuSable Museum, sounds really interesting – great concept!  I can’t wait to see what the Chicago super group, consisting of Rhymefest, Mikkey Halsted, J.U.I.C.E., and Twone Gabz, cooks up.

Let’s take a look at the cartoon music videos discussed in the interview:

Rhymefest – “Say Wassup” (Featuring Phonte)

The 3-D video for “Saw Wassup” is entertaining enough to warrant three minutes of your time, especially given Phonte’s smooth hook and Rhymefest’s always thought-provoking lyrics.

Rhymefest – “Give It To Me”

It’s hard to believe that respectable companies such as Warner Brothers and Disney used to create these culturally insensitive cartoons.  I agree with Rhymefest that we should allow hip hop artists the opportunity to mature with their music before writing them off, in a similar fashion to how Warner Bros. and Disney were allowed to come up with more appropriate cartoons before loosing our attention.  Also, if you enjoyed the video, be sure to check out the album version of “Give It To Me,” as it has guest verses from Saigon and Adad.

By the way, if you want to hear Rhymefest’s personal favorite, “Truth On You,” you’ll have to buy the album.  Youtube.com has already blocked the content.