Russell Simmons
Born	October 4, 1957 (age 50) Queens, New York City, United States
Occupation	Music and Fashion Mogul
Net worth	$340million

Russell Simmons (born October 4, 1957 in Queens, New York), is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Fashion refers to styles of dress (but can also include cuisine literature art architecture and general comportment that are popular in a culture at any given time Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

USA Today recently named Russell Simmons one of the “Top 25 Most Influential People of the Past 25 Years,” calling him a “hip-hop pioneer” for his groundbreaking vision that has influenced music, fashion, finance, television and film, as well as the face of modern philanthropy.

Simmons has been instrumental in bringing the powerful influence of hip-hop culture to every facet of business and media since its inception in the late 1970s. From producing and/or managing such early hip-hop artists as Kurtis Blow, Run DMC, Whodini and the Beastie Boys to signing contemporary superstars like Jay Z and Ludacris, Simmons’ groundbreaking vision was crystallized with partner Rick Rubin in the creation of the seminal Def Jam Recordings in 1984, launching the cultural revolution known as hip-hop.

In addition to launching Def Jam, Simmons helped bring hip-hop culture to the mainstream with such ground breaking ventures as Phat Farm clothing and HBO's Def Comedy Jam and Def Poetry Jam. Simmons has continued to serve the hip-hop generation through such ventures as the Rush Card, Simmons Lathan Media, Atman Fragrance, Simmons Jewelery and the Global Grind website. Simmons was the creator of the now defunct '360 Degrees Hip Hop' website which was a commercial failure.

A committed philanthropist, Simmons heads Rush Philanthropic, which exposes disadvantaged youth to the arts, as well as serving as the Chairmen of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which is dedicated to bringing religions and ethnicities together.

Simmons is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Do You!12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success.

Contents 1 Def Jam and Baby Phat 2 Personal 3 Philanthropy and Activism 4 Other projects 5 Do You! 6 References 7 External links

Def Jam and Baby Phat

Russel Simmons attended City College of New York but left his studies to promote local music acts, including Kurtis Blow and Run-D.M.C., and produce movies. The City College of The City University of New York (known more commonly as the City College of New York or simply City College, CCNY, or colloquially as Curtis Walker (born 9 August 1959) better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is one of the first commercially successful rappers and Run-DMC was a pioneering hip hop group during the 1980s founded by Joseph "[The Reverend] Run" Simmons, Darryl "D In 1984, he met New York University student Rick Rubin and together they founded Def Jams, signing the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C. and other acts. Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin (born March 10 1963 in Lido Beach New York) is an American Record producer and is currently James Todd Smith (born January 14 1968 better known as LL Cool J, is an American Rapper and actor Public Enemy, also known as PE, is an influential hip hop group from Long Island New York, known for its politically charged Lyrics, criticism Run-DMC was a pioneering hip hop group during the 1980s founded by Joseph "[The Reverend] Run" Simmons, Darryl "D

Def Jam became just one piece in Simmons' corporation, Rush Communications, which included a management company, a clothing company called Phat Farm, a movie production house, television shows such as Def Comedy Jam, a magazine, and an advertising agency. Rush Communications is the company owned by hip-hop pioneer Russell Simmons. Phat Farm is an Urban fashion line created by hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons, the founder of the Def Jam record label in 1992 Def Comedy Jam is a HBO television series produced by hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons. Simmons sold his stake in the record company for $100 million to Universal Music Group in 1999^[1]. Universal Music Group (UMG is the largest Business group and family of Record labels in the Recording industry. The up and coming component of Rush Communications is the sneaker company Run Athletics, a company that produces the Legacy and Arthur Ashe shoes. Arthur Robert Ashe Jr ( July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an African American Tennis player who was born and raised

In 2004 Russell sold Phat Farm to Kellwood Company for $140 million dollars. Phat Farm is an Urban fashion line created by hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons, the founder of the Def Jam record label in 1992 Kimora--who was already Creative Director of Baby Phat-- was promoted by Kellwood to President and Creative Director of Phat Fashions

Personal

Russell is a vegan and a yoga enthusiast who practices the Transcendental Meditation technique daily. Baby Phat is an Urban fashion line of clothing and other items for women and girls designed by Kimora Lee Simmons. Yoga ( Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yóga, joːgə refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, to the On an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, he said:

"In getting in those poses, the most important thing is to remember to smile and breathe. Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29 1954 often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American The grace that you get from smiling and breathing in every pose, if you take it off the mat and if you can remember to be connected to your breath, and to move gracefully through life, then that alone is a process that will bring you to enlightenment. "^[2]

Simmons met model Kimora Lee Simmons in November 1992 during New York City's Fashion Week, when she was 17 years old and he was 35. Kimora Lee Simmons (born Kimora Lee Perkins on May 4 1975 is an American model, Author, the head of design for Baby Phat, KLS a new line He married Lee on December 20, 1998 ^[3] on Caribbean island of St. Barts with his Pentecostal minister brother Rev. Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting Saint Barthélemy (Saint-Barthélemy officially the Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy (French Collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy) is an Overseas collectivity Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the Baptism Joseph Simmons officiating. Joseph Ward Simmons (born November 14 1964) is one of the founding members of hip hop group Run-D The couple separated in March 2006 and officially filed for divorce in March 2008^[4]. Events in March American Red Cross Month Fire Prevention month ( The Philippines) Women's History Month ( United Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the termination of a Marriage. Events in March American Red Cross Month Fire Prevention month ( The Philippines) Women's History Month ( United 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common

The Simmons' have two daughters: Ming Lee Simmons (born January 21, 2000) and Aoki Lee Simmons (born August 16, 2002). Both Ming Lee and Aoki Lee have modeled for the Baby Phat Kids Collection^[5].

The former couple's 35,000 square-foot Saddle River, New Jersey mansion is for sale at $23,888,000. for the former municipality see Saddle River Township Bergen County New Jersey (Historical Saddle River is a Borough in New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. A mansion is a large dwelling House. The word itself derives (through Old French) from the Latin word mansus (the perfect passive participle Located 25 miles northwest of Manhattan, the 1996 built palace is one of the largest homes on the East Coast. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York

Simmons is currently dating model/yoga buddy Porschla Coleman.

Philanthropy and Activism

Simmons has been an active philanthropist. Among his community activism and charitable organizations are the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, the Rush Philanthropic organization and the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. ^[6] Simmons became involved in New York politics when then-governor George Pataki asked for Simmons' input in revising the Rockefeller drug laws, a mandatory-sentencing policies for drug offenders^[7]. George Elmer Pataki (born June 24, 1945) is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York serving three consecutive However the proposed overhaul never came to fruition, and had the effect of allegedly "alienating some of the hip-hop entrepreneur's political allies"^[8]. Simmons was later investigated for being an unregistered lobbyist. In response, Simmons sued the state of New York for infringing on his right to free speech. Simmons has been actively supporting PETA animal rights campaigns,^[9] particularly campaigns against KFC's cruelty to chickens. "Animal liberation" redirects here for other uses see Animal liberation (disambiguation. Kentucky Fried Chicken, usually known as KFC, is a chain of Fast food restaurants based in Louisville Kentucky. Simmons wrote a letter to KFC CEO David Novak ^[10] asking the company to improve its animal welfare standards.

Since May 2005 he has been a contributing blogger at political website The Huffington Post. A blog (a contraction of the term " Web log " is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary descriptions of The Huffington Post (often referred to on the Internet as HuffPo) is a liberal News Website and aggregated Weblog

In July 2006, Simmons was named a Goodwill Ambassador of CISRI-ISP. ^[11] According to the press release, Simmons' appointment will help "launch an awareness campaign utilizing hip-hop as a vehicle to address war, poverty and HIV/AIDS, in support of the UN Millennium Development Goals as well as the CISRI-ISP fight against severe poverty and malnutrition ^[12]. Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and Human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV) is a Lentivirus (a member of the Retrovirus family that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome On August 24,2006, Simmons hosted a reception in support of Republican United States Senate candidate from Maryland, Michael Steele ^[13]. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Michael S Steele (born October 19, 1958) is the chairman of GOPAC and a former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, having been elected

In December 2006, Simmons went on a tour of Botswana's Jwaneng mine, one of the world's richest diamond mines. The Republic of Botswana (Lefatshe la Botswana is a Landlocked nation in Southern Africa. Jwaneng is a town located in southern Botswana. The town was formed around a Diamond mine that is considered the richest in the world the richest in terms of its This was part of a nine day, three country trip through Africa. Simmons' response was that he felt too much focus has been put on "conflict diamonds" and that his job was "to take what's good and make it better"^[14]. In relation to diamond trading blood diamond (also called a converted diamond, conflict diamond, hot diamond or a war diamond) refers to a diamond

Russell Simmons also is a U. S. board of directors for Upliftment Jamaica [1], an organization started by Gary Foster, Vice President of Rush Communication which seeks to empower impoverished communities throughout Jamaica and the Caribbean. Jamaica (ˈdʒəˈmeɪkə} is an Island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting

Simmons has since gained attention by calling for the removal of the words 'nigga', 'bitch' and 'ho' from the "clean" radio edited versions of rap songs^[15]. Nigga is a term used in African American Vernacular English that began as an Eye dialect form of the word Nigger (which is derived ultimately Bitch is a term for the female of a canine species in general Prostitution is the act of performing Sexual activity in exchange for Money.

In an April 25, 2007 appearance on Donny Deutch's show, Simmons said if he had to put someone in office right now, he would choose Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich for the 2008 U.S. presidential election^[16]. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. Dennis John Kucinich (kuˈsɪnɪtʃ (born October 8[[ 946]] is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives and was a candidate for The United States presidential election of 2008, scheduled for Tuesday November 4 2008 will be the 56th consecutive Simmons has since revised his statement saying, "When I am ready to officially support one of the candidates, I will put out an official statement. "^[17] He has also met with John Edwards, taking him to a yoga class in the Hamptons. Johnny Reid "John" Edwards (born June 10 1953 ^[18][19]. On March 2, 2008 he officially endorsed Barack Obama for President ^[20]

Other projects

Simmons has been involved behind the camera, producing or executive producing several films and television shows. Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by Among his credits are the hip-hip film Krush Groove (1985), The Nutty Professor (1996), and Gridlock'd (1997). "Krush Groove" is a 1985 Warner Bros film written by Ralph Farquhar and directed by Michael Schultz (who also produced the movie along The Nutty Professor is a 1996 Science fiction - romantic comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. Gridlock'd is a 1997 film starring Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth, and Thandie Newton.

Do You!

In April 2007, Gotham Books published Simmons' book Do You! 12 Laws To Access The Power In You To Achieve Happiness And Success^[21]. Penguin Group is the second largest trade book Publisher in the world behind Random House. The book is a self-help book which combines Simmons' business knowledge with spiritual advice he has gained from his yoga practice. Simmons explained, "It's about getting back from the universe what you put into it. It's about the karmic laws that are unbreakable. "^[22] The book was co-written with Chris Morrow and featured an introduction by Donald Trump. Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American Business magnate, Socialite, Television personality, and In an interview with the New York Times, Simmons credits Oprah Winfrey with giving him the title of the book. Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29 1954 often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American ^[23]

In July 2007, Simmons, frustrated that The Howard Stern Show would not book him as a guest to promote his recent book, vented on the Jay Thomas radio show by bad mouthing Stern show producer Gary Dell'Abate. The Howard Stern Show is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern on Howard 100, one of two channels on the subscription-based Jay Thomas (born July 12, 1948) is an American Actor and Disc jockey. Gary Patrick Dell'Abate (born March 14 1961) is the producer of The Howard Stern Show and co-host of The Wrap Up Show When Stern heard this, he called Simmons and immediately booked Simmons for the show on July 24, 2007 to talk about this. Howard Allan Stern (born January 12 1954 is an American radio host and Television personality. The two are now friends.

References

Russell Simmmons has also appeared on the Opie & Anthony radio program on XM radio.

External links

• Interview with Russell Simmons and Marc Schneier from the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
• Hip Hop pioneer Russell Simmons discusses the influence of yoga on his life
• Bio and photo of Russell Simmons — Crain's New York Business 40 under 40 — 1992
• Russell Simmons' Written Portrait Of His Family
• Current information on Def Poetry Jam
• Biography from Salon
• Bishop E. Bernard Jordan
• Russell and his brothers featured in the documentary film, Lemonade Stories.
• Russell Simmons Interview on CBC
• Russell Simmons Interview on Soundslam
• Russell Simmons Interview on NPR Onpoint
• Interview with Riz Khan on Al Jazeera English, 20 June 2007
• Is There A Future For Spoken Word? @ dropmagazine.com

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