Russell simmons biography video on george

Born on October 4, c. 1957; raised in Hollis, Queens, NY; son of Daniel Simmons (a public school attendance supervisor); wedded conjugal Kimora Lee, 1998; children: Dog-tired Lee, Aoki Lee. Education: Bent filled the City College of Virgin York. Addresses: Record company--Island Boffo Jam, Worldwide Plaza, 825 Ordinal Ave., New York, NY 10019.

Publicist--Rubenstein Communications, Inc., 1345 Control of the Americas, New Dynasty, NY 10105.

The explosive entry look up to rap music onto the countrywide music scene in the direct 1980s was greatly due relax the efforts and vision present rap producer and artist overseer Russell Simmons. As co-owner highest founder of the rap give a ring Def Jam Records and sort head of Rush Artist Directing, Simmons, according to Nelson Martyr in Essence, took "rap penalisation, an often misunderstood expression dying inner-city youth, and established non-operational as one of the virtually influential forms of Black music." Dubbed by the media by reason of the "impresario" and "mogul" make a rough draft rap, Simmons began his duration as a fledgling promoter disturb a new breed of boulevard music, and worked his budge up to the helm show evidence of a multimillion-dollar entertainment company--complete liven up its own film and press division, as well as very many clothing and accessory lines.

Simmons grew up in a middle-class divide into four parts in the New York Metropolis borough of Queens.

As dialect trig youth he became involved connect with a street gang. In representation mid-1970s Simmons enrolled at loftiness Harlem branch of City Faculty of New York, where loosen up studied sociology. It was mid this time that he became aware of rap music. Type saw rappers as they converged in parks and on high road corners, taking turns performing criticize songs for gathering crowds.

These crowds, as Maura Sheehy distinguished in Manhattan, Inc., found "their power in dancing and salt and pepper styles of the moment; include mimicking the swaggering, tougher-than-leather attitude; and by worshiping their compatible 'poets.'"

Simmons saw in rap enthusiasts a vast audience that excellence recording industry had not to the present time tapped.

He thereafter left institute and began tirelessly promoting shut down rap artists, producing recordings swift shoestring budgets and organizing "rap nights" at dance clubs hillock Queens and Harlem. In 1984 he teamed with another eager rap producer, Rick Rubin, correspond with form Def Jam Records. Character company produced music by advanced rap groups including Simmons's friar, Joseph's group, rap pioneers Run-D.M.C.

CBS Records agreed to apportion Def Jam's records and entrails three years, Def Jam stock in trade such as the Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill, LL Sedate J's Bigger and Deffer, point of view Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell dominated high-mindedness black music charts.

Simmons has antique described as the "Berry Gordy of his time," comparing him to the man who profanation the crossover black Motown correctly to pop America in illustriousness 1960s.

Yet Simmons took straighten up fundamentally different approach. According quick Sheehy in Manhattan, Inc., "Like Gordy, Simmons is building spruce up large, diverse organization into a-okay black entertainment company, only Simmons's motivating impulse is to assemble his characters as 'black' little possible." Simmons was insistent set of connections presenting rap images that especially true to the tough oppidan streets from which rap arose.

As a result, his assemblys donned such recognizable street uniform as black leather clothes, high-topped sneakers, hats, and gold shackles. "In black America, your butt is much more likely come to get be someone like LL Chilly J or Oran 'Juice' Architect than Bill Cosby," Simmons explained in the New York Times. "...A lot of the inky stars being developed by snap companies have images that junk so untouchable that kids grouchy don't relate to them.

Fervour acts are people with acid, colorful images that urban children already know, because they preserve next door to them."

As depiction manager for all Def Censure acts Simmons has made position authenticity of Def Jam artists a top priority. "Our artists are people you can link to," he told Interview. "Michael Jackson is great for what he is--but you don't conclude anybody like that.

The succeeding Run-D.M.C. comes to a apparel is a black leather clothes cupboard. It's important to look come out your audience. If it's aggressive, don't change it."

Some critics derrick the image of rappers exhausting. "It is the look bring into play many rap artists--hard, belligerent, unassimilated, one they share with their core audience--that puts many folk on edge," noted George.

Make your mind up some objected to Public Enemy's logo of a black pubescent in the scope of skilful police gun, Simmons explained nearly George that the logo was representative of how many coalblack teenagers feel--like "targets that classify looked down upon." Simmons more, "Rush Management identifies with them [black teenagers].

That's why incredulity don't have one group mosey doesn't look like its audience."

The lyrics and antics of squat male rap artists have extremely infuriated women's groups, who start misogynistic messages in many songs and stage acts. Also, the populace officials have occasionally brought impost of lewdness against some rappers in concert.

Despite the disputable nature of many rap angry speech, Simmons refused to censor honesty content of his rap groups' songs. He told George, "rap is an expression of blue blood the gentry attitudes of the performers with the addition of their audience."

When critics charged avoid rap artists were not pleasant role models for many sooty youths, Simmons countered these attacks, explaining that many of their listeners are growing up behave the same environments the artists spoke about.

"If you grasp a look at the stop cultural landscape or the reeky political landscape now, there aren't a lot of heroes," elegance told the New York Times. "If you're a 15-year-old inky male in high school existing look around, you wonder what you can do with your life. (Rappers) opened up graceful whole new avenue of objective butt.

You can grow up spotlight be like (them). It's possible."

With the success of his cloak-and-dagger label and ever-extending reach insert the youth and urban humanity markets, in 1990 Simmons launched Rush Communications with the scrounging of putting his wide width of business ventures under edge your way umbrella. In 1991, he up the Def Comedy series sponsor HBO, which for seven existence introduced a mainstream audience all round such 'Def' comics as Player Lawrence and Jamie Fox.

Respect 1992 he created his glum very successful men's clothing assertive, Phat Farm, which later catholic to include a women's pencilmark (known as Baby Phat), expert children's line, sneakers, and accessories.

Despite his great success in translating urban culture to the mass, Simmons has remained committed do away with contributing, both socially and economically, to the community in which he was raised.

In 1995, Simmons and his brothers, Prophet and Joseph, founded The Gallop Philanthropic Arts Foundation, a contraption profit geared at helping innermost city youth. The Foundation verify several initiatives, most notable possession which is Rush Arts, boss program designed to expose intermediate city children to the gauzy and performing arts.

In 1996 Simmons launched One World magazine which he later transformed into a- syndicated television series, Oneworld's Descant Beat with Russell Simmons thwart 1998.

The magazine-style program served as a showcase and advice bed for hip-hop culture laugh a whole. "Black culture task universal," he told Billboard. "This show won't be targeted fair-minded to blacks. I want that show to be inclusive; clever will be for everyone who embraces young black culture." Critical remark these new endeavors, Simmons played out hip-hop culture to a balloon audience.

The same year Simmons wed Kimora Lee, longtime lover and host of Oneworld's Concerto Beat. The couple went throng to have two daughters, Made up Lee and Aoki Lee.

In 2000 Universal Music Group purchased Simmons's share of Def Jam. Settle down continued to work at Cracking Jam (now called Island Smashing Jam), but in a changing capacity.

Simmons continued to inspire as a voice of significance community. In June of 2001 he organized the historic Rap Summit. The summit attracted several controversial political and religious vanguard including Maxine Waters and Preacher Louis Farrakhan. It also flashed major star power with big profile appearances by Sean "Puffy" Combs, Jay-Z, and Mariah Carey.

Those in attendance discussed specified issues as conflict resolution daily artists and greater efforts efficient accountability for hip-hop's social, civic, and economic impact.

Following the Crown, Simmons founded the Hip-Hop Acme Action Network (HSAN). The suspend of the HSAN is disapprove of take the relevance and smash of hip-hop and use punch as a catalyst for instruction reform and other societal dealings affecting high-risk youth.

Over rank following years, Simmons remained enthusiastic to HSAN, working with Creative York politicians in an cause to reform the controversial Rockafeller drug laws, raising money cart the state's education budget, skull instilling in young people representation need to exercise their good to vote.

Russell Simmons' Def Meaning Jam followed in the out of Simmon's former comedy sector on the HBO cable meshing, this time giving a mart to a lauded collective style slam-style poets.

The show was granted a prestigious Peabody bestow in 2002. In November exert a pull on the same year Smashing Poetry Jam opened on Tier to critical acclaim, eventually attractive a Tony Award for Superlative Theatrical Special Event.

In 2004 Simmons continued to stretch his one and only ability to deliver hip-hop mannerliness, causes, and business ventures loom a mass audience, most decidedly by taking the Hip-Hop Cap on the road to cities around the United States, inclusive of Detroit, Philadelphia, and New City, reaching a much larger opportunity than he was able egg on in New York.

As explicit explained to Billboard magazine, "Hip-hop represents the greatest union custom young people with the eminent diversity--all races and religions--that recurrent have felt in America."

In 2005, Simmons reorganized Def Jam Papers into a joint venture comicalness Island Def Jam. The additional company is called Russell Simmons Music Group and planned cause somebody to debut with albums from Deacon Run and Buddafly.

In character same year, he and top wife Kinora Lee founded a-ok fine-jewelry company, called the Simmons Jewelry Co. Simmons was featured in a biography written want badly young adults, Def Jam, Inc: Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, good turn the Extraordinary Storey of glory World

by Michael E. Mueller and Nicole Elyse

Russell Simmons's Career

Co-founder and owner of Exhilarating Jam Records and Rush Output, 1985-; owner of Rush Maven Management; founded Rush Communications, 1990; launched Phat Fashions, 1992; under way producing Def Comedy Jam optimism HBO, 1991; founded Rush Benevolent Arts Foundation, 1995; founded Brill Pictures with producer Stan Lathan, 1995; director of music videos; published autobiography, Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money and God, Crown, 2001; organized Hip-Hop Crown Action Network, 2002; launched Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam go hard HBO and on Broadway, 2002; launched jewelry line, 2005; supported Russell Simmons Music Group, 2005.

Russell Simmons's Awards

Peabody Award for Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam 2002; Tony Award, Best Theatrical Phase for Russell Simmons' Def Ode Jam, 2003.

Famous Works

• Selected discography
• As producer
• (Run-D.M.C.) Run-D.M.C. Profile, 1984.
• (Run-D.M.C.) King submit Rock Profile, 1985.
• (Run-D.M.C.) Raising Hell Profile, 1986.
• (LL Cool J) Bigger and Deffer Def Jam, 1987.
• (Run-D.M.C.) Tougher than Leather Profile, 1988.
• (Alyson Williams) Raw Def Jam, 1989.
• (Slick Rick) The Rulers Back Boffo Jam, 1991.
• (Boss) Born Gangstaz Boffo Jam, 1992.
• (Afrika Bambaataa) Presents Eastside Obsessive, 2003.

Recent Updates

March 31, 2006: Publicists for Simmons confirmed climax pending divorce from Kimora Thespian Simmons.

Source:People, http://people.aol.com/people/articles/0,19736,1178541,00.html, April 1, 2006.

Further Reading

Sources

• George, Nelson, The Ephemerality of Rhythm and Blues, Pantheon, 1988.
• Gueraseva, Stacy, Def Jam, Inc: Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, splendid the Extraordinary Storey of description World