Hip-hop visionary, entrepreneur Russell Simmons visits UD Nov. 12

3:05 p.m., Oct. 30, 2003--Russell Simmons, hip-hop pioneer, entrepreneur and chairman and CEO of Rush Communications, will speak on “Empowerment Through Hip-Hop,” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 12, in Mitchell Hall.

Russell Simmons

Tickets are $7 for the general public and free for students, faculty and staff with a valid University ID. Tickets, which are available at all UD box offices, must be presented for admission.

Simmons, 45, came of age in his native New York City during the late 1970s—a time when the musical and cultural movement that became known as hip-hop was being born in the city’s African-American neighborhoods.

In 1977, while a student at City College of New York, Simmons saw his first rap show and began promoting his own shows, as well as managing artists and producing records.

Having understood from the beginning that this new creative explosion was on a par with other African-American art forms such as jazz, swing, gospel, blues, rhythm & blues, rock ‘n’ roll, soul and funk, Simmons introduced rap music to the downtown tastemakers in the Big Apple.

Within a five-year period, Simmons’ company, Rush Artist Management, was home to hit-makers such as Whodini, Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC. Simmons also helped mold the careers of chart-topping artists such as Will Smith, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys.

Def Jam Recordings, which he co-founded in 1984, quickly became rap’s premier label and in 2002 generated revenues of $780 million. Beginning with “Krush Groove” in 1985, Simmons has been involved with a number of successful movies, including “Tougher Than Leather” (1988), “The Nutty Professor” (1996), “The Addiction” (1996) and “Gridlock” (1997).

In 1991, Simmons began producing “Def Comedy Jam,” the HBO show that ran for seven years and featured artists such as Martin Lawrence, Chris Tucker, Steve Harvey, DL Hughley, Jamie Foxx and Bill Bellamy.

Simmons was equally successful in his retail and fashion ventures, including Phat Fashions, which began in 1991 as Phat Farm, a $500,000 men’s sportswear line, and has evolved into a $510 million lifestyle collection.

To help provide disadvantaged urban youth with significant exposure and access to the arts, including offering exhibition opportunities to underrepresented artists and artists of color, Simmons helped found the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. The foundation helps more than 50 different organizations through direct funding and has provided support and assistance to hundreds of visual artists through the programs and activities of the Rush Arts Gallery and Resource Center.

The event is sponsored by the Cultural Programming Advisory Board, with support from the Center for Black Culture and the Fortune program in the Lerner College of
Business and Economics.

For more information, call 831-2991.

Article by Jerry Rhodes

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