One of hip-hop’s top songwriters, Rhymefest helped pen tracks like Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks” and John Legend and Common’s Oscar-winning “Glory.” But his most compelling work yet isn’t a rap verse — it’s a documentary, In My Father’s House. The film, which hit select theaters on Oct. 9, follows the 39-year-old Chicagoan as he tries to save his estranged father from alcoholism and homelessness.
What inspired you to reconnect with your father?
My uncle was selling his house, and I decided to buy it — it was where my father grew up. I realized I’m haunted by the spirits of family I never even knew. My wife said, “Why don’t you find your father?” I didn’t know if he was dead. I hadn’t seen him in 30 years. So I went on this journey and found him. He had been homeless for 27 years. I went through this honeymoon phase, like, “I’m going to clean him up, and he’s going to be the father I never had.” Then I realized what a disease alcoholism is and how addiction can tear a family apart.
How are things with you two now?
The same place they left off in the movie: an ongoing, day-to-day struggle. There are habits he learned in the past three decades that we had to retrain. I had to become the parent.
The film is also frank about your own failures as a parent and musician. What was it like watching that?
How was it for me to put out that my album flopped? How was it to put out the money troubles, that I was behind on child support? There was a question of whether I was a father to a daughter that I didn’t want to be a father to. It doesn’t matter if I’m seeing that for the first time or the fifth time, I’m like, “Man, I’m an asshole.” I saw lots of things that I need to change. I realized there are second chances, but only in truth.
What did you learn from the film?
That walking away isn’t an option, and that’s with anything: children, parents, life. Getting involved seems harder, but you’ll be more fulfilled for it.