When Shameika Rhymes didn’t see the content she wanted on the internet, she did what any skilled producer would do: created her own.
The Asheville, North Carolina native wasn’t noticing any love being shown to the music legends that she admired growing up, so during the early stages of the 2020 pandemic, she created Check the Rhymes TV, a YouTube channel (named as an ode to the classic track from A Tribe Called Quest) built to celebrate the individuals who ruled the radio airwaves during her formative years.
The channel gives performers an avenue to wax nostalgic while also speaking about future projects, helping to extend their careers in a way that wasn’t previously possible.
“I just wanted to give those artists I grew up listening to their flowers,” Rhymes told THE BLOCK about the channel that features interviews with a who’s who of 80s and 90s musicians including singers Will Downing, Jody Watley, Tito Jackson, H-Town, and Ralph Tresvant.
“When I looked online there was never any attention being paid to those that paved the way. I just wanted to be able to have conversations with them and give us Gen-Xers a chance to honor their work.”
Rhymes has spent most of her life nurturing her love of entertainment. Growing up, she became obsessed with the syndicated show Soul Train and vowed that one day she would either host the show or create a show just like it. From the age of five she fell in love with cheer, joining the team in high school and coaching and judging competitions through the years. When it came time for college and contemplating a major, Rhymes figured communications would be a safe bet.
“I wasn’t good at math, and I loved to talk, so it sounded like fun. Once I got into the [communications] program and realized that it was where television and radio was done, I knew I’d found my home.”
During her sophomore year at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, she produced, wrote, edited and hosted “Rhythm & Rhymes,” a 30-minute infotainment program. Those hours producing prepared Rhymes for her first paid gig, a full-time position (while still a senior) as a production assistant in a local Johnson City newsroom.
That job placed Rhymes on the producer track after graduation, with executive producer stints in Johnson City (2002) and Knoxville (2004) leading to a permanent move to Charlotte in 2005, where she landed a gig as senior producer for the NEWS 14 (now Spectrum News) morning show.
In 2007, her lifelong love for cheer came full circle when a chance to appear on the reality show I Want to Look Like a High School Cheerleader Again prompted Rhymes to leave her producer job. Although she was selected to be a contestant on the show, her time there didn’t last long. The group was told they would be coached by the same trainer that worked with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders but it “turned out to be more like a boot camp,” she confessed. After three weeks, she was given her release from the show and, according to Rhymes, “Honestly, I was ready to go.”
Upon her return to Charlotte, Rhymes focused more on what fueled her: entertainment. Although she was able to secure her old job in the newsroom, she wanted to do more writing. Soon came the creation of her personal blog, The Mofo Chronicles, along with freelance writing assignments for Ebony/Jet, Shondaland, ET Online, Parade magazine—and in another full circle moment—the opportunity to write for the series she’d loved her entire life, SoulTrain.com.
Rhymes became one of Charlotte’s most sought-after journalists as well, with bylines in Charlotte Magazine, SouthPark Magazine, Charlotte Five, Zola.com, columns in Creative Loafing and Queen City Nerve, and serving as CIAA correspondent for The Self Show. Currently Rhymes is the official voice of the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, and just this past year, she was presented with Elevate Lifestyle’s 2021 Best of the City award for Favorite Twitter Handle (@mofochronicles). And although her list of credits is long, Rhymes still thinks the city has more work to do when it comes to appreciating its talent.
“I don’t think there are gatekeepers, per se,” Rhymes admits. “But it does feel like the same folks get invited to the same events. I’ve found that I get more invites from publicists outside of Charlotte than local publicists, which doesn’t seem like right.”
In fact, it’s the national media that prompted Rhymes to expand the content on Check the Rhymes TV soon after its launch, which now also features interviews with celebrities doing press junkets about upcoming projects.
Her first celebrity interview was also her most viewed, featuring a conversation with former BET and MTV host Ananda Lewis, discussing why she left television.
“When I first started Check the Rhymes, I felt bad about telling publicists that their client didn’t fit the channel. I didn’t want to burn bridges,” Rhymes admitted. “What I had to realize is that this is my show, and if the client doesn’t fit the tone of the channel, they can’t appear here. Being able to say ‘no’ has made it much easier to curate the content.”
After securing an exclusive licensing deal with ZONEIFY in 2020, Rhymes is determined to use this year to continue growing the channel’s audience by providing more interviews with music legends.
“They are the reason why Check the Rhymes TV was able to become a reality,” Rhymes asserted. “I want to continue telling their stories. I want to make sure they have a place to be seen and celebrated.”
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Yahrasiel Colbert
Keep up the amazing work Shameika!!