"@HypeWilliams Team up with Fernando Meirelles ( City of God ) @RHYMEFEST and @tylerperry and make the real #Chiraq movie."
That was the tweet Rhymefest responded to when he wrote "Spike Lee exploited poor people" in his upcoming film, "Chiraq." Later Wednesday afternoon, the Chicago lyricist spoke with Chicago Sun-Times about the "Chiraq" trailer he'd seen earlier in the week. Like other Chicago rappers, Rhymesfest is clearly disappointed in how his city is being depicted in the film and decided to voice his opinion, telling Spike Lee "you owe Chicago and 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 Church]. Get with the people who have programs in the community that are effective, and support those programs."
Rhymefest went on to talk about the "Chiraq" script he was able to obtain from a Chicago rapper. According to the unidentified artist, he was asked to be in the film but was later let go after they decided to go with an actor raised outside of the city. "I saw the trailer. It looks just like the script I read, and it verified everything I thought," Rhymefest stated. "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 who was shot [Tyshawn Lee], and now a comedy is being made about death in Chicago."
Though he's a fan of Lee's work, Rhymesfest says "this is a perfect example of somebody not from Chicago who comes to Chicago and exploits the violence and the situation without leaving anything sustainable in its place." "If I were to go to Brooklyn and grab one community leader and say I'm gonna make a movie called 'Blacks Kill Blacks All Day in Brooklyn,' and this movie is written by somebody from Chicago, I don't think Spike Lee would like that," he said about the borough Lee moved to as a child. "At the end of the day, I take issue with the name 'Chi-Raq.' The way the film was made in secrecy, and then Lee tells us to just trust him. That's the story of Chicago. Everything's done in Chicago in secrecy. That's the politics of Chicago. He learned Chicago politics quick," he added with a laugh.
So what does Rhymefest believe Spike Lee should have done instead? "Spike Lee should have used Chicago writers" he voiced. " 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. The guns and drugs get into the hands of children. . . . You can pick up the story of this film and drop it into any [city]. Chicago was used because of the media's portrayal of the violence and it was used as a way for [Lee] to sell tickets. We were used. We were exploited. This story is not specific to Chicago."
Source: Chicago Sun-Times|photo credit: Splash News
