June 08, 2005 @ 3:01 pm

Rhymefest - Saving Grace

"I’m wacktose intolerant,” Rhymefest declares. “It’s a battle between good and evil, and the only way I can win is to bring rap back to what it used to be.” The Windy City’s latest boy wonder shares this bold proclamation during a mixing session at DJ/producer Mark Ronson’s studio in Manhattan’s SoHo district. To hear him tell it, he is a man with a noble crusade. And he hopes to strike a major blow for the forces of good with his debut album, Blue Collar, on Ronson and Rich Kleiman’s Allido label, distributed by J Records. “We have to fight wackness with creativity,” he says. Born Che Smith on Chicago’s infamous South Side, Fest became a teenage champ on the Midwest battle circuit where he won over crowds with his charismatic blend of humor and intelligence. At the 1997 Scribble Jam in Cincinnati, the Midwest’s largest annual battle, Fest went toe-to-toe with Eminem and emerged victorious. “It was late in the battle, and my charisma just outlasted his,” Fest remembers. But before he could capitalize on his victory, responsibility came calling in 1999 with the arrival of his son, Solomon. After studying elementary education for two-and-a-half years at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., Fest decided he could better provide for his family through his true calling, so he headed back to the studio. In 2001, he released an independent album, Raw Dawg, which featured a host of tracks from an aspiring Kanye West. The duo had already recorded tons of material together when, in 2002, Fest brought Kanye a sample of the Arc Choir’s infectious gospel tune “Walk With Me.” It became the foundation for “Jesus Walks,” the biggest single from Kanye’s critically acclaimed double-platinum debut. It was also in ’02 that Fest signed with Allido. With Ronson’s rock-tinged tracks, Kanye’s soulful touch, and No I.D.’s resurrection of a classic Chi-town sound, Blue Collar offers humorous, thought-provoking lines like: “I used to get teased / Kids said he acted white because he could read.” Common thinks the rapper’s winning personality will gain Fest many fans.“I look at him as a real character,” says Common. “That’s what we love in hip hop, people like a Slick Rick taking who they are and amplifying it.” Fest believes that his individualism is just what the genre needs. “Everything before was this macho fantasy,” he says. “The door has been opened for realism.” Now he’s ready to step right in and make us all true believers.

Article tags: Rhymefest, Saving, Grace 

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