Rhymefest to Spike Lee: ‘You owe Chicago an apology’
Chicago rapper Rhymefest does not mince words when it comes to Spike Lee’s upcoming film “Chi-Raq.” He took to Twitter on Wednesday with this message: “Spike Lee exploited poor people.’’
““I GRIEVED FOR THE 9-YEAR-OLD LITTLE BOY WHO WAS SHOT, AND NOW A COMEDY [‘‘CHI-RAQ’’] IS BEING MADE ABOUT DEATH IN CHICAGO.’’ CHELAND ‘‘RHYMEFEST’’ SMITH
Chicago rapper Rhymefest — aka Cheland Smith — does not mince words when it comes to Spike Lee’s upcoming film “Chi-Raq.” He took to Twitter on Wednesday with this message: “Spike Lee exploited poor people.”
Rhymefest had plenty to say about the trailer for the controversial film opening Dec. 4, as well as the celebrated filmmaker, during an interview late Wednesday afternoon.
“I’d say [Spike Lee], you owe Chicago an apology. And you owe Chicago your presence to repair the damage. I would like you to come to Chicago and speak to more community leaders and Father [Michael] Pfleger [of St. Sabina]. Get with the people who have programs in the community that are effective, and support those programs.”
The musician said his tweet was sparked by his reaction to the film’s trailer, released earlier this week, and to a script of the movie he received from a Chicago actor — whom he would not identify — who was asked to be in the film and then booted in favor of an out-of-towner. Whether the script was the final shooting version, Rhymefest did not know, but said the trailer supported pretty much what he read in the script he received.
“I saw the trailer. It looks just like the script I read. I was more shocked when I saw the trailer than when I was reading the script. I grieved for the 9-year-old little boy [Tyshawn Lee], who was shot, and now a comedy [“Chi-Raq”] is being made about death in Chicago.”
The film, whose star-studded cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Hudson and Angela Bassett, among others, is directed by Lee and cowritten by Lee and Kevin Willmott. The satire puts a contemporary spin on the mythological Greek comedic tale of Lysistrata, who gets the women of ancient Greece to withhold sex from their husbands as a way to end the Peloponnesian War. The trailer depicts a group of African-American women joining forces to do just that in Chicago’s toughest and most crime-ridden neighborhoods as a means of ending the violence.
“That’s how we want to depict our community? That’s the answer?” Rhymefest said.
Rhymefest said the idea of the violence in Chicago being compared to a war — hence the film’s title — angers him perhaps most of all.
“Spike Lee should have used Chicago writers. None of them were from Chicago. This movie is not about a war. This is not a war. Wars are fought for a reason generally. People fight over land, over money. ... That’s not what’s happening on Chicago’s South Side. ... People like to say its gangs fighting over turf. That’s not it. It’s senseless violence. People feel disrespected and not validated. They’re poor. Guns are cheap. Drugs are cheap. Because guns and drugs are cheap, senseless violence happens.”
But Rhymefest also said the crime stems from the disintegration of the family that’s prevalent in society.
“If the family can’t be healed then we cannot begin to quell the violence. [Rhymefest recently reconnected with his own father after 25 years, which was depicted in the film “In My Father’s House”]. We have to begin by finding the fathers, the mothers, because some of these children don’t have mothers either. We need to find foster parenting. ... The mayor is blaming police for not cracking down enough [on the violence] for fear of losing their jobs or being sued. Gov. Rauner cuts off funding to after-school programs and free mental health clinics. Preachers are losing their congregations — that’s the best movie I’ve never seen.”
Rhymefest said he’s a fan of Lee’s and plans to see “Chi-Raq,” and, if it’s “better than what’s in the script or the trailer,” he’s “willing to shake Spike Lee’s hand and apologize.”