Chicago Hip Hop artist Che Smith – or you may know him as Rhymefest –  has hit some real high notes in his career. In 2004, “Jesus Walks”, the song he co-wrote with Kanye West, won a Grammy. Two years later, his debut album went to number 10 on the Billboard R&B charts. He’s even met with a member of the British Parliament to discuss hip hop’s impact on young people. Rhymefest recently sat down with WBEZ’s Steve Edwards to talk about the art of freestyling, song writing, and life beyond the music biz. He began by talking about his upcoming album, El Che, due out next month, which took four years to create.

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