Rhymefest Talks About The Real Man In The Mirror

Author: Sean Ryon

People all across the world were stunned when it was announced that music icon Michael Jackson suddenly passed away on June 25. Almost immediately, the numerous Hip Hop artists paid homage to the King of Pop with a veritable torrent of tribute songs and mixtapes. Ironically, however, when Chicago rapper Rhymefest made the Michael Jackson-dedicated mixtape Man in the Mirror in 2007, he was greeted with confusion and raised eyebrows.

“[Jackson’s death] was kind of eerie. If you listen to Man in the Mirror in its entirety…it’s sound kind of like an eulogy,” noted the Windy City emcee. “But I knew at that point, when I did Man in the Mirror…it [was] funny [because] people all around me were saying I was crazy for doing it because he was alive. We often don’t give people the flowers they deserve while they’re alive. We wait until they’re gone, and people were like ‘You’re crazy, it’s going to be wack, people are not going to relate to it,’ but I knew something that they didn’t. I knew that, man, Mike’s got music that goes back to Rock, to Soul, to Pop, to Hip Hop-sounding, and that [Man in the Mirror] was going to be dope. Mike is the essence of a lot of music, including Hip Hop…the way the news hit me, it’s like I saw it coming. That’s why I did Man in the Mirror. His whole essence was about being a musician, but he wasn’t just a musician. That [was] his purpose here on Earth, [his spirit] was to do music.”

He added, “When you’re put on this Earth to do a certain thing and you’re not able to do that certain thing or you’re not doing that thing…then you’re removed. And Mike was removed. It’s not to say that Mike wasn’t in pain and that he’s not resting better now than he was when he was alive, but I wanted to make a tribute and give thanks to him for the spiritual healing he brought through his music.”

Rhymefest notes that Jackson’s influence upon him went far beyond just his music. He says that it was Michael’s benevolent nature and socially conscious attitude inspired him to pursue music in a grounded and unaffected manner.

“At the end of the day, Mike was a humanitarian. Michael Jackson was socially conscious. Micahel Jackson wasn’t just making songs about, ‘Ooh, baby baby, I want to do this and I want to ball.’ If that’s what you’re doing with your music and talk about Michael Jackson as you influence, you need to just quit lying to the public and lying to yourself. Think about songs like “Human Nature,” songs like “Smooth Criminal” that talked about domestic violence. Think about songs like “Man in the Mirror” that were [about] self-observation. Think about the philanthropy of Michael Jackson buying the catalogue for Little Richard…for millions and giving it to him…he didn’t want to make a big thing out of it, giving [Little Richard’s] catalogue back. He did justice by musicians. Mike was a humanitarian, and so, when we talk about was Mike my influence or how did he influence my musically, [I say] Mike influenced me consciously. He influenced me to say, ‘Ok Rhymefest, you can help make a “Jesus Walks,” you can make a song like “Bullet,” it doesn’t matter [what] everybody else is talking about; Rhymefest, all you got to do is be consistent and be good and be concerned and compassionate and merciful towards your audience. You don’t have to be pretentious.’ Mike wasn’t pretentious; he was unadulteratedly [sic] him.”

Rhymefest says he’s skeptical of the sincerity of the many tributes to surface in the aftermath of Jackson’s passing. He notes he’s even more wary of the industry that perpetuates the status quo from which Michael stove to distance himself throughout his entire career.

“I did a Twitter about [these tributes] the other day and said that all these inarticulate-ass rappers and artists getting up now and talking about how Mike was an influence to them can just shut up,” he recalled. “[Man in the Mirror] is not some old corny song. Listen to what these [other] dudes are doing. They’re probably doing 'Billy Jean,' they’re probably doing 'Black or White,' they’re probably doing all that Pop stuff. But look at Man in the Mirror. Look at how we went back far and deep to like 'Dancing Machine.' We went back to when he was doing the cover of Bill Withers’ 'Ain’t No Sunshine.' We went back and got 'Coolie High,' and motherfucking Wale, Talib Kweli and Ghostface Killah and made it real…I wasn’t like, ‘Man, let me go get Kanye [West] and make this hot,’…it was soulful, it was for real. People need to get real about music and using it as a means to just make a quick dollar.”

He added, ”I truly believe it’s been a conspiracy to undermine what I’m bringing. Ignorance is promoted by forces unseen for reasons known by few. They put ignorance up there and they put fashion statements up there and they’re selling the people products. But if you want to be sold – not even sold, I made [Man in the Mirror] and I spent money to make that and gave it away for free…when the news of Michael dying came out, everybody…was like ‘All you dumb-ass rappers and deejays, don’t you be trying to do it, it was already done the best by Rhymefest.’ Everybody was saying that already. The fans know, but the industry tried to bar me. They tried to have me in the closet like a secret. But [there can’t be] no more of that…even satellite radio. They’re not playing my music, which they should be, but why not? Isn’t it dope than some of that other bullshit they’re playing? It’s a conspiracy, and that’s what the fans…need to be asking themselves.”

Yet it’s not only the music industry who ignores the basic human truths embedded in Michael’s music. The media, from print to television to even the Internet, would rather focus on the petty details of Jackson’s personal life than his musical legacy. Despite the media’s tabloid-like response to Jackson’s death, Rhymefest feels like what will truly survive is Jackson’s music.

“Michael Jackson, as an icon and as an idea…is a black Beethoven,” said Rhymefest. “He’s a black Mozart…this man’s music is going to live for one thousand, two thousand, three thousand years after him. His music was bigger than his physical self. When you’re thinking about that type of thing, I saw on CNN the other day, even his father [Joe Jackson] came out and wasn’t talking about [Michael] and his memory. He was talking about his own record label…it was ridiculous. It was a circus. And Al Sharpton, and all of these different people…but I think when everything calms down…none of this crap that the media’s spewing [will be remembered]. This will interesting to see if the music is stronger than all the circus…the media said a lot of stuff about Muhammad Ali, but what survived: what they said about Muhammad Ali [in] trying to diss him, or Muhammad Ali’s legacy of being not just a fighter, but a being champion?”

Rhymefest plans to re-release Man in the Mirror with unreleased songs and will return later this year with his highly anticipated sophomore album El Che.

hiphopdx.com