10 Reasons Why Russell Simmons Is Legendary
Celebrating Def Jam 30 with a look at Uncle Rush's career.
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10 Reasons Why Russell Simmons Is Legendary - More than a game changer in music, Russell Simmons is a cultural institution who has helped reshape American poplular culture for the past three decades, ever since he co-founded Def Jam and laid the blueprint for engaging hip hop as a movement.Music. Clothes. TV. The Web. Spirituality. Need to know why he's a legend? In honor of Def Jam 30, the label's 30th anniversary, read on to see the facts that make this man the icon that he is.(Photo: Steve Mack/Getty Images)
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We Need a Beat - The legend begins in 1984, the founding of Def Jam Records with partner Rick Rubin in Rubin's New York University dorm room. Russell Simmons, via his label (and his Rush Managament), would go on to influence American music and create the template for hip hop heading into the 21st century. His two greatest music discoveries — LL Cool J (whom he signed) and Run-DMC (whom he managed) — would go on to be the most influential artists in hip hop music history. (Photo: Rev Run via Instagram)
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Def Jam Does Films - In 1985 Simmons expands hip hop music promotion to film when he produces (and appears in) the classic, star-studded film Krush Groove. He also shapes hip hop mogul-dom to include movies when he founds Def Jam Films, which produces box office hits like The Nutty Professor and How to Be a Player. (Photo: Warner Bros., Crystallite Productions, Film Development Fund)
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Phat Gear - Simmons grows hip hop's revenue stream in 1992 when he creates the clothing company Phat Farm, which inspires a plethora of other rappers and hip hop moguls to start their own fashion lines. (Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
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Def Does Comedy - Simmons's massive influence extends to television when he produces the groundbreaking hit comedy showcase Def Comedy Jam, which is responsible for launching the stardom of such comedic giants as Chris Tucker, Bernie Mac and Tracy Morgan. And his hit spoken word showcase Def Poetry Jam was responsible for taking poets without a beat to the mainstream. (Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
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Phat Pockets - It's common knowledge that folks of color have trouble with credit or getting credit because of a bad rating. Seeing an opportunity, Simmons hops into the financial game, starting Rush Card, a pre-paid debit card that helps customers build credit as they use it. (Photo: Rushcard via Twitter)
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Lights, Cameras and Hip Hop Action - Simmons helps hip hop flex its political influence as well. In 2001, he co-founds the Hip Hop Summit Action Network with veteran activist Ben Chavis. Along with growing the youth voting poplulation through voter registration drives, Uncle Rush also helps reshape harmful policies like the Rockerfeller Laws, which overwhelmingly hand Black and Brown men longer prison sentences for drug charges. (Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
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Get Rich - Simmons combines his Eastern spiritual beliefs with his business savvy to become a self-help/life coach author. After co-writing the best-selling book Do You: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success, he authors another hit in 2011 with Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All. (Photo: Gotham Publishing)
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Worldwide - Over a decade before the explosion of hip hop music blog/news/gossip sites, Simmons thrusts the genre into the digital age when he founds the site 360 Hip Hop in 1999. He later becomes a major investor in the currently popular urban "hip pop" website Global Grind. (Photo: Rodrigo Varela/WireImage)
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Keeping It Real - After producing his brother Run's beloved reality TV series Run's House, Uncle Rush gets in front of the cameras for his own hit show, Running Russell Simmons, in 2010. (Photo: Oxygen Network)