The Chicago artist, born Cheland Smith, teamed up with Kanye West when the two were 16-year-old up-and-coming rappers in Chicago. In the interview, Rhymefest says he "stumbled" upon the sample used in West's Grammy-winning track "Jesus Walks."

He says he gave West the sample and his lyrics. "Kanye had access. He was already signed to Def Jam and had an album slated, so this is the point where you could become selfish or practical. He rapped the song better than I probably would've at that time. He knew more about the industry, and he made that song a success. So he should get the credit for that. But he wouldn't have all that without my words."

The MC continues: "I've written for all of Kanye's albums with the exception of 808s & Heartbreak. There are a lot of songs that my name isn't even on." He even hints that Kanye West and many other MCs don't write their own rhymes: "I think sometimes people get to a point where they're so busy� 'I'm doing fashion, I'm doing this, I'm doing that,' that you lose focus with the foundation of what it is," he says. "I think sometimes we� we have so many things, that we're just trying to keep our things, so we lose track of the fact that it wasn't about the things. You shouldn't be trying to keep the things, you should be trying to make new things."

One rapper that Rhymefest isn't calling out is Common, who along with John Legend, co-wrote the Oscar and Golden Globe-winning song "Glory" from the film Selma. Rhymefest recalled the writing session that spawned the hit song. "Common called me up and said he needed a song for an independent movie, and it had to be a rap song," he said. "We prayed to the ancestors, and an hour and a half later, the words were there. I was sitting there in my underwear, and we just did it right over the phone."

He points out that he was not invited on stage to accept any of his awards and that Common and John Legend "didn't mention me when they talked about it," but he quickly adds, "I want Common to be successful forever, because he has a good heart."