Chicago rapper Che Rhymefest Smith co-wrote the Oscar-winning song Glory from Selma, has won Grammysandmet with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss gun violence. But the recently released documentaryIn My Fathers House, directed byRicki Stern and Anne Sundberg (Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work), eschews hip-hop hagiography andclub-hopping excess to focus on the musicians search for his homeless dad, who abandoned the family when Smith was a child.
The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival (as one of Rolling Stones must-see movies) and is set for wider release later this year, is equal parts poignant, funnyand heartbreaking, examining how hard it is forhomeless adults to acclimate to society andthe flip side of hip-hop success.
In this exclusive clip from the film, Smith catches his father up on his life and details his long-standing relationship with Kanye West, who hes known since the two were teenagers.
I met Kanye cause he came up to me and was like, Yo, youre one of the top rappers in the city, Smith says in the clip. The one thing youre missing is tracks; you need beats and I got beats.
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The two did not get off to an auspicious start. I tell my friends about him like, Theres this real arrogant dude named Kanye and hes crazy and Kanye heard that I was talking mess about him, Smith says. He called me up one day and said, Yo Im gonna pick you up. Lets go out and kick it. We had the best time. . .When he dropped me off, he said, We picked you up cause we were going to jump you and beat you up and leave you somewhere, but youre actually a cool dude. Weve been friends like brothers ever since.
It was Smith who introducedWest to the ARC Choirs 1997 a cappella gospel songWalk With Me,the haunting, celebratory track that provided the vocalanchorfor Wests 2004 hit Jesus Walks. It really shook me up; brought me to tears, Smith recalls in the clip. I called up Kanye and said, You gotta hear this song. He said, Oh my God, we must write this immediately.' The song, originally for Rhymefests debut album Blue Collar,would eventually land on Wests debut The College Dropout and earn a Grammy for Best Rap Song and Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.
West and Smith wenton tocreateDondas House, the Chicago nonprofit charity that offers free music education and training to at-risk youth. In 2013, Smith spearheaded a 10-week course called Got Bars? that taught students aged 15 to24 to write and record their own music alongside exercise and nutrition advice. The program is currently in its third yearwith Smith at the helm.
Rhymefest hasnt released an album since 2010s El Che, but the rapper is working on new material inspired, in part, by his recent reunion with his father. Found You, a new song featured in the film, received Best Original Song honorable mention at the Nashville Film Festival, with the film itself winning the Overall Audience Award and Audience Award Documentary Feature category at the festival.
Fans interested in the documentarycan visit its official websiteto sign up for updates and future screening locations.
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