Thriller With a Chicago Twist Drops for Halloween
Video Shot at Hideout Block Party
Robert Loerzel, www.undergroundbee.com
Chicago video producer Konee Rok was planning on releasing the video as part of a Rhymefest DVD, but decided instead to release in time for Halloween.
Every summer weekend in Chicago, there are numerous festivals to choose from, but the Hideout Block Party is one of Chicago's hidden secrets. For the past 12 years, thousands of people descend on the 1300 block of West Wabansia in September for the two-day festival with food and bands.
But this year, something special happened. Singer Robbie Fulks and Rhymefest, a Grammy-winning Chicago rapper who's collaborated with the likes of Kanye West, performed a version of Michael Jackson's Thriller, complete with a host of zombies on stage and a live band.
Fulks was already scheduled to do a Jackson cover set, but Rhymefest was brought in at the last minute to put his spin on it. The rapper had released a Michael Jackson tribute mix tape called "Man in the Mirror" earlier this year along with super-producer Mark Ronson.
"My good friend Tim Tuten, who throws the block party every year, called me up and told me they were doing a special Michael Jackson performance, and they were going to have ghouls to come out, and he asked me to perform with the Thriller band," Rhymefest said. "I'm like, 'What am I gonna do? I don't have anything for that."
But the spontaneity comes through in the video. Rhymefest and his longtime collaborater, Chicago video producer Konee Rok, were hoping to re-release the mixtape along with a DVD from the Hideout show. But they decided to release the Thriller video in time for Halloween, and it's starting to pick up steam on the Internet.
"It all came together perfectly. There were kids there singing old Michael Jackson songs that weren't even born yet, and I wasn't even sure where the zombies came from," Konee Rok said.
Rhymefest -- who calls Jackson his hero -- said he is considering releasing another tribute album with unreleased tracks, and a regular album with his own work scheduled for next year. He's also working on a puppet show project called Alligator Boots with Kanye.
Click here to listen to a podcast interview with Rhymefest about the video and his latest work.
