Che Armond Smith, better known as Rhymefest, is a hip hop artist, songwriter, actor and community activist.
Starting in January 2025, he can add another job description to his CV: member of Chicago’s Public School Board.
With 99% of the vote in, Rhymefest won 32.2% of the vote in District 10, outpacing three other candidates. Associated Press called the race on Friday.
The Chicago school board is entering a period of transition with an elected board taking over from one appointed by the city mayor. This first election was for 10 seats on a hybrid board, along with 11 seats appointed directly by the mayor. The board will be fully elected by the voters in 2027.
The non-partisan election became a slugfest between different interests, with the Chicago Teachers Union pouring nearly $2 million into the race. Another entity called Chicago Democrats for Education opposed the CTU’s candidates. Their endorsed candidate for District 10 finished in second place.
“As the Community Candidate, my campaign was drastically outspent,” Rhymefest noted in a post-election tweet, “yet our enthusiastically grassroots support within our community rose every day leading to the election.”
This victory belongs to every Volunteer who helped spread our message, the 23,640 Voters who believed in our mission and all our public school Children who will benefit from my service. pic.twitter.com/9FXq6shIPd
— Rhymefest for CPS (@RhymefestforCPS) November 8, 2024
District 10 is “one of the city’s most spread-out and socioeconomically diverse districts,” according to Chalkbeat, including Bronzeville, Kenwood, Hyde Park, Woodlawn, Pullman and other neighborhoods across the South Side.
A resident of Chatham, Rhymefest has won two Grammy Awards, most notably for “Glory,” his collaboration with John Legend and Common for the film Selma.
Photo: rhymefestforcps.com
