Rhymefest interview with Ruby Hornet
Posted in Artists, Other Peoples' Interviews on August 14th, 2008 by Hyphen
Ruby Hornet just posted up a great interview with Rhymefest that I highly recommend y’all check out. They talked about how Fest’s approach to music has changed over the years, his “Stolen” video, how you have to be the change you want to see in the world, and much more. Here’s a sample:
RubyHornet: When you speak about that perspective, how important is it for you as an artist to be able listen to other people’s experiences and stories? We think of emcees as great speakers, but is there an exchange that has to happen? Do great artists need to also be great listeners?
Rhymefest: I think anybody who is going to be successful in anything needs to be a great listener. Let’s take Barack Obama. The other day Barack Obama was speaking at a town hall meeting. Somebody stood up and started yelling, and the people started booing him. He said, ‘wait, wait, wait. Don’t boo him. What is he saying?’ And the guy said, ‘you never do the pledge of allegiance. Do you love your country? We didn’t even do the pledge of allegiance, and you’re talking about America.’ And people started booing him. [Obama] said, ‘wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. We didn’t do the pledge of allegiance. Somebody was supposed to do that before I got up and started speaking and they didn’t. You know what sir? You lead us in the pledge of allegiance and I’ll say it along with you.’ He put his hand on his heart and the audience roared. What if he wasn’t a good listener? Imagine how the Republicans would have killed him with that. You know, he played it smooth. Listen, this song that I’m coming out with, “Stolen.†It was because I was listening that I had the inspiration to make another song. It’s because I really listened to somebody who really lived through it. Don’t get it wrong, Alex. You can listen, but I’m not making any excuses for ignorance. Ignorance has no refuge.
Amen. Read the entire interview here, and be on the lookout for El Che when it drops. It’s going to be a great record.