Rhymefest

Che Armond Smith, known professionally as Rhymefest, was born on July 6, 1977, in Chicago, Illinois, and emerged as a rapper and songwriter. After gaining early recognition through battle rap contests such as JumpOff and ScribbleJam, he entered the recording industry with the single "Fever" in 2006, followed by the single "Brand New" featuring Kanye West. In July 2006, he signed with Mark Ronson’s Allido Records, a J Records imprint, and released his debut album Blue Collar, which established his lyrical focus on social issues.Rhymefest’s songwriting credits expanded through the 2000s and 2010s, including co‑writing "Jesus Walks" (2004) for Kanye West, which earned a Grammy for Best Rap Song, and "Glory" (2014) for Common and John Legend, which won the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He continued to release music, notably the 2010 mixtape El Che and the 2024 project James & Nikki: A Conversation. Rhymefest also ventured into film, appearing in The Public (2018) and contributing to the documentary In My Father’s House. His career remained active over the years with ongoing releases and collaborations that reinforced his role as a socially conscious voice in hip‑hop.

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.