Tribe called Quest tour starts in a couple of days. My next album’s in the works with tracks with Slum Village and The Little Brother. I deliver the message as it comes to me.
With you, Kanye and Lupe making the headlines nowadays, is Chicago the new heart of the East coast?
East coast?! It’s the heart of the Mid West! You hear anyone saying that Houston is the heart of West coast? South is South. Mid West is Mid West. Chicago has one of the greatest diversities in the country. From Urban League and wide-spread Muslim religion it still remains racist, segregated and hurt. The world needs an artist like me. I bring duality and balance to people. Combining the positive and the negative together I create that diversity, actually affecting things.
In your opinion, why do sugarcoated lyrics and beats sell?
People are programmed that it will sell, so it does. Its simple psychology. What’s being played on the radio and the SoundScan numbers are not the same.
What’s different about Rhymefest?
Chicago’s influence is all in me. Just look at Common’s Be, Kanye’s Jesus Walks… My music brings spirituality to Hip Hop. El Che revolution is here. Its about politics, its about the hood, its about the AIDS awareness. Che’s everywhere in the world.