Hip-Hop's Forum

By:  Chris Wallace (Writer: Hip-Hop’s Forum)

Rhymefest Silences Critics On 2nd Full Length Album

I wanted to describe this man to you all but I decided to let someone else do it for me. ”Che Smith is a revolutionary artist, writer, and activist. Popularly known as Rhymefest, the South Side Chicago native has been a trailblazer in music, television, and politics.” (elchethemovement.com)

I’m just going to come right out and say it. Since 2009′s El Che: The Manual Mixtape, Rhymefest is one of the most underrated emcee’s in Hip-Hop. Although the tape was criticized for its content, Che Smith didn’t let that slow him down.

El Che, the second studio album from the Grammy Award Winning artist, producer and ambassador, lays down smooth flows over production via Hip-Hop’s elite; Kanye, Mark Ronson, Lil’ Jon, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Just Blaze, DJ Premier, and S1 and Caleb. Crazy right?

Rarely will I start the analysis of an album by mentioning the beats. HOWEVER, I could listen to this record all the way through free of words and be overwhelmed.

Rhymefest has been and always will be the cat with corky rhymes and “change-of-pace” type of verses all surrounded by that monotone voice.

Combined with pianos, horns, strings, and virtually every song your latest Pro Tools (or software of choice) can muster up, Rhyme’s flow is the perfect complement.

There also isn’t anything wrong with smooth R&B or various scratching on the hooks because they don’t take anything away from the content but at the same time make the track.

I mention this a lot with artists like The Game, Wu-Tang, etc. because too many artists go out and stay hard for 4 straight minutes and it dumbs down the track.

Rhymefest really fell back in love with rhyming during studio time for his most recent mixtape, Dangerous: 5-18. He actually stopped altogether and rediscovered what made it so fun for him. At one point he even had a dance crew come in to the studio and perform as he was spitting to give himself a full experience.

That being said, this is really the first time in a while where the whole body of work from Rhyme is all about him and less about everyone else. The best story to tell is your own because it’s not just the most real to the artist, but to us as well.

Since moving to the worst area ever, Scranton, Pennsylvania, I have had the luxury of going to Best Buy to see them NOT have El Che on the shelves. This also happened with countless other albums including Attention Deficit (which they still don’t have).

So this goes back to my previous statement, Rhymefest is still just “that guy that produced “Jesus Walks”" to many people.

I hope for his sake as well as for you all that this album allows you to wake up and smell the roses because I feel his work has only just begun.

Maybe I am biased for the fact that I’m from the Chitown area and he mentions it a lot, but his music is strong enough to stretch outside the city. Maybe not to the capacity of a Kanye West, but certainly credit should be given when it is due.

Thanks Che, you represent the most amazing city in the world well.