The work of a Revolutionist is never done. Couple that with the mentality of an artist and you have Rhymefest in a nutshell. However, ‘Fest’s efforts won’t go fruitless. From writing for Kanye West to releasing his own highly regarded pieces of work, Rhymefest is the definition of what an artist should be – humble and educating. So get a notepad, grab a pen, and take some notes because class is in session!

WHUTUPDOE: What’s been going on in the world of Rhymefest?

Rhymefest: The album is the biggest thing I got going on. By me having an independent release, I have to be all things. I gotta be video director. I gotta be the business consultant. I gotta be the artist. I was talking to Pusha T of the Clipse, and we were talking about how there was a time where the artist could release music every year, or every two years, but now it’s so much music. Everyone’s a damn artist [now], G! As artists, we gotta step up our game and not put out quality but put out quantity. And that’s what I been on. You got the mixtape [out], Dangerous: 5-18. I’m doing videos for every song on the album. Then you got the album, [and] then you got the features I’ve been doing [like] the joint I did with Skyzoo called, “Crack The Code.” So, it’s just like a lot of music and a lot of hustle.

WHUTUPDOE: How did your indie deal with Dangerous Negro come about?

Rhymefest: I was introduced to them by one of the owners – my man Gary that lives out in Indianapolis. I was like, “If y’all gonna be makin’ clothes, y’all might as well add music to that. I got some money and some resources. Y’all got some money and some resources. Let’s put it all together and do the shit our self.” Ain’t nothin’ more dangerous than a negro that can brand your clothing and be a mouthpiece. And I’m that musical mouthpiece.

WHUTUPDOE: Where do you see the Dangerous Negro deal going?

Rhymefest: We tryin’ to get back to the loyalty, man. The one thing Black people don’t have is loyalty. We haven’t been able able to forge alliances that stay together forever and a lot of different money at a lot of different tasks. We gotta bring back that Nicky Barnes thing and make it work man, where we don’t covet each others girls. So where I see it going is going where Black people never been before. If these White folks can be out here in these fields creating militias, why we don’t have Black militias? And gangs don’t count because they killing each other. Why we ain’t got no Black militias? We got Chinatown, where’s Blacktown? And the ghetto don’t count. I’m talking about something productive where other people wanna come purchase stuff from us. Why we not in other people neighborhoods setting up shop for their kids to come in our stores and buy, like, “buy now or leave.” Why we not doing that to them? So when you ask me where Dangerous Negro is going, we’re trying to form a [structure] and sell these records. Do it one step at a time and become a dangerous empire.

WHUTUPDOE: I can definitely see that. Dangerous Negro is making an impact here in Detroit where I am. Y’all work with a couple of artists from here.

Rhymefest: Yeah, man. And I’d rather be a Dangerous Negro over any other kind of negro.

WHUTUPDOE: What do you think the first move would be to get that loyalty, that you spoke on earlier, back?

Rhymefest: Everything starts locally. Everything’s communal, first. So the first thing you gotta do is grab hold of the brother right next to you and be like, “Aight, we together [now] what’s our agenda?” We need to have where it can be a few brothers with an agenda. We gotta live around each other, so everyday we’re working on our agenda. When we wake up we’re in each others faces. And if we ain’t got nothing to work on, we ain’t gon’ like being in each others faces. So guess what we gon’ do? We gon’ work. I think that Americans, not only black people, suffer from a lack of agenda.

WHUTUPDOE: That’s real talk. I can get with that.

Rhymefest: Put it this way: Not America, young people. We suffer from a lack of agenda. We ain’t got nothing we believe in no more, man. A chain ain’t nothin’ to believe in. The club ain’t nothin’ you can believe in. A car ain’t nothin’ you can believe in. What is it that we’re really willing to put our life on the line for? We don’t believe in nothin’. So we gotta figure out what’s important to us. I’m not just gon’ sit here on the phone like, “Yeah this what we need to do,” but my thing is [that] what’s important to us? The way we view it, and I view it, what’s important to us is [that] our unemployment is triple that of Whites and double that of Hispanics. Blacks and browns, we’re suffering in the fields. We’re going to the penitentiary. How is it that in Kansas City, they’re shutting down 50% of the schools? What you think ‘finna happen? When you shut down 50% of the schools, the kids gon’ drop out. The drop out rate in Detroit is horrible, 60-70%. And when kids drop out, where they going? To the criminal justice system. And if you read the Constitution [it states], once you’re incarcerated you have no rights. So what are you out here? You a slave. So my thing is, I believe our agenda is to self-employ ourselves. Can we create money and wealth within our community, and trade it within our community?

“Whether the world knows it or not, I have to embody change” – Rhymefest

WHUTUPDOE: Right. Me personally, I’ve been clamoring that our generation is missing that voice. That freedom fighter. We don’t have a Martin Luther King Jr., we don’t have a Malcolm X you know?

Rhymefest: We do, though! We do, we just don’t believe them. We’re cynical. It ain’t no way you can really tell me Farrakhan ever sold Black people out! I ain’t in the Nation of Islam, but he ain’t never sold us out! But, don’t nobody wanna be disciplined. Nobody wanna listen. My thing is, we gotta stop talking about what we don’t have and look at what we do have. And appreciate what we do have. Anything someone names, we’re quick to say, “Yeah, but the problem with that is…,” you know what I’m saying? C’mon man! What’s something that we got that’s got more good in it that’s going to help somebody? We can fill up whatever the problems are. First, we gotta get rid of our skepticism and our cynicism and our unwillingness to barter with one another. We’re quick to give someone else our money before we’re quick to give each other our money. And then when we do do business with each other, we disappoint each other. That’s why I say start with a few brothers and say, “Trust or nothing. It’s us. And it’s us against the world.” And then that brotherhood grows.

WHUTUPDOE: So is that something you think that you can achieve that you can achieve through the avenues you reach people?

Rhymefest: Yes it is. And not only is it something I’m able to do, it’s something that I’m doing. I go out here, and I’m in the community man. I’m in the hood with these shorties, and I’m the same dude in the hood with the shorties that’ll go kick it with Kanye [West]. I’m the same dude that’ll then go to London and have a meeting in the House Of Commons and meet with Parliament about how Hip Hop affects people out in Britain. I did that. I’m the same dude that can then go in the boardroom and hatch out a deal. So these are things that are not only possible but that are being done.

WHUTUPDOE: I think that’s something that this generation definitely needs to look up to like.

Rhymefest: I just left Israel, man. I was in the Palestinian territory, I see what’s going on in the world. So all we gotta do is put this music out and let people relate to it, and to who we are.

WHUTUPDOE: Speaking of the music, you got the new album – El Che – coming out. What was the process like in putting it together?

Rhymefest: Long! Frustrating at time, and something that I was like, “Whether I sell two records or two million, I have to put this out because as a man I said that I would put this out.” And you know, fans look at that. You’ll lose fans for not having the drive beyond the obstacles to get your stuff out. I realized that whether you sell records or don’t sell records, there’s a certain respect that comes with just dropping the record. So with El Che, this was the album that has my real name on it. Is that the album [I'm] not gon’ put out? The album that got yo name on it? My name is that, and that’s revolution in its definition. I had to put it out, man. And the only people I could find that would put it out is Dangerous Negro.

WHUTUPDOE: I listened to it a few times, and I knew what to expect because you’re one of the best songwriters out there. But this is probably one of the most complete albums that I’ve heard in quite some time. I’ve gotta give it up to you for that.

Rhymefest: Man, I appreciate that. I hope the public views it that way as well. There are songs that I really like on there like, “City Is Fallen,” is one of my favorite songs. I love the song with Saigon, the, “Give It To Me,” track. Aw man, my favorite track I did is with Twan Gabbz called, “Truth On You,” and it’s just like we’re saying everything I felt like I heard people say about me.

WHUTUPDOE: Speaking of the, “Give It To Me,” track, that’s the track you had a contest for where emcees had to submit their 16′s to win a feature slot on the track, correct?

Rhymefest: Yeah. Actually I did one with just me, and I did a video for that. That’s the one. The last dude you hear, Adad? That’s who won the contest.

WHUTUPDOE: What made you want to reach out to inspiring emcees, to give them a shot to work with you?

Rhymefest: Man, ain’t that my duty? If I say I’m El Che, ain’t it my obligation to help people and do something that other artists will never do? Whether the world knows it or not, I have to embody change. So I’ll do stuff that no other emcee would do, and give another emcee a chance who people ain’t really ever heard of. We often say, “Man it ain’t my job, I’m just trying to do me.” People that know Rhymefest, know Rhymefest. It is what it is at this point [but] if I don’t try and start helping people now then when?

WHUTUPDOE: Better now than never. What was that process like choosing Adad? Was it an easy process?

Rhymefest: It was a difficult process because I had to listen to 600-700 verses, man. Everybody rappin’ ain’t supposed to be rappin’. In the beginning, it was something else!

WHUTUPDOE: You got a few features on the album that people may not have associated being on a Rhymefest album. Like, you have two tracks featuring Little Brother, how did those come about?

Rhymefest: Little Brother is my family! If I ain’t know no better, I’d think I was a part of they crew. By that being my fam, they always hold me down. I got they songs first and second on the album. I just think their songs are some of the best songs on the album as well. I wanted to definitely represent my fam on [the album]. They so talented too, you know? To me, Phonte is the male version of Lauryn Hill. And Pooh is so underrated, man! He’s so dope.

WHUTUPDOE: I agree. To this day, I don’t understand how The Minstrel Show got so much criticism.

Rhymefest: ‘Cause people are scared. People are scared of them because they’re talking about things that make other people money. Don’t nobody wanna face the fact that they sold out.

WHUTUPDOE: What would you like the listeners to take from the album when it drops?

Rhymefest: I want them to take the full experience – that lyrical rappers can also make money. That lyrical rappers are from the same places that rappers that can’t rap are from. If you take a listen to the music, I think you’ll see that there’s more value in being dope than it is just being hot.

Make sure you’re not left out when the revolution comes, El Che hits the web and stores on June 8th!

In the meanwhile, check out the video to, “Give It To Me,” featuring Saigon and Adad.