Russell Simmons started his career as a hip-hop producer and rose to the top of the music business. He built an entire empire of recording music, as well as creating films, clothing and organizing special events on Broadway. The producer’s name was synonymous with success until he was tainted by accusations of sexual assault from dozens of women. Read more about his life on queenski.com.
The early years
Simmons was born on October 4, 1957, in Queens. He was the son of a school administrator and an employee of the New York City Parks and Recreation Department. As a teenager, he became addicted to drugs and was a member of a street gang. Simmons ended his life of crime after one of his comrades was killed.
In 1977, Russell heard the sets of club DJ Eddie Cheeba. Then, he realized that he wanted to build his career in hip-hop. Simmons was introduced to the world of music by a journalist and producer Robert ‘Rocky’ Ford Jr. In his senior year of college, Simmons dropped out to work as a music show promoter. However, no one attended his first performance. His father was angry and urged Russell to return to college. The mother supported the son during a difficult period and secretly gave him $2,000.
Thanks to this loan, Simmons was able to run his own production company, Rush Productions. He produced Kurtis Blow. The latter became the first commercially successful rapper in the world and the first to be signed to a major record label.
In 1981, Simmons, his younger brother and two friends founded the hip-hop group Run–DMC. This is one of the most influential rap collectives in the history of hip-hop. Run–DMC is also the first rap group to release an album certified gold and nominated for a Grammy Award. In addition, the group was the first in its genre to release platinum and multi-platinum records. Members of Run–DMC also set fashion trends. Their signature black hats, jeans and T-shirts, gold chains and Adidas sneakers started a street fashion revolution.
Unlike many other bands of the time, Run–DMC. kept the urban sound, rather than trying to create the image of rock and R&B stars. This fact, as well as good lyrics and rhythms, contributed to the success of the group.
Mogul of Rap
In 1984, Simmons met punk rock fan Rick Rubin. They created the recording studio Def Jam Productions together. The American television and radio network CBS agreed to distribute the albums recorded by this studio.
In the next four years, Simmons and the artists he produced became quite popular. The list included the Beastie Boys band that created music in the rapcore style; the first hip-hop sex symbol LL Cool J; Public Enemy, a band that highlighted African-American issues; rapper Slick Rick, etc. Simmons organized festival tours for hip-hop artists, bringing their sound to new audiences across the US. In 1985, the Wall Street Journal called Russell the ‘mogul of rap’. In the late 1980s, Rubin left Def Jam Productions.
Other activities
Having achieved success in music, Russell moved to Hollywood. In the early 1990s, he and TV and film director Stan Lathan created the Def Comedy Jam television program. Many of its participants became real stars, such as comedians Martin Lawrence (who starred in the films Bad Boys, Big Momma’s House, etc.) or Christopher Tucker (he is known for his role as a detective in the Rush Hour trilogy).
Simmons also produced the tragicomedy The Nutty Professor starring Eddie Murphy. The film is about a calm and benevolent professor who suffers because of his excess weight. Thus, he tries to invent a drug that will allow him to lose weight easily.
In 1992, Simmons tried himself in the fashion industry. He launched the clothing brand Phat Farm. It became famous for its bold and colorful designs that combined hip-hop culture with classic preppy style (reminiscent of the clothes of students preparing to enter colleges or private schools). Russell’s wife, Kimora Lee, created a women’s line of this brand.
In 2002, Simmons presented Def Poetry Jam, a television series about performance poetry. Such poems are written specifically for performance or improvised in front of an audience. Simmons won a Tony Award for organizing performances in Broadway theaters.
The producer also got involved in political affairs. He formed the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network to fight for social and economic justice among young people. Throughout his career, Simmons has constantly conquered new heights, always staying faithful to hip-hop.
Scandal and career collapse
In 2017, more than a dozen women as part of the #MeToo movement accused Russell Simmons of harassment, rape or sexual assault between 1988 and 2014. Thus, the model Keri Claussen Khalighi declared about the rape she experienced in front of Hollywood director Brett Ratner in 1991, when she was only 17 years old.
After such accusations, the producer left business and philanthropy and gave an interview to In Depth with Graham Bensinger. Russell tried to deny the allegations, though not very convincingly. He stated that he passed 9 tests on a lie detector but did not specify which organization checked his words for truthfulness. Simmons turned to four women who nominated him accusations but they continued to defend their position.
In 2018, several more women made new statements about the violence they had experienced. Thus, director Jennifer Jarosik filed a lawsuit against Simmons, demanding $5 million for rape. According to her, it happened at Russell’s house in Los Angeles in 2016. After the incident, Jarosik said that she experienced extreme emotional stress.
As the allegations began to mount, Simmons traveled to Bali. In Indonesia, the producer practiced yoga, calling himself a ‘Christian yogi’. In 2020, a documentary On the Record that tells about Russell’s crimes against women was released. Most of the screen time is devoted to the story of music producer Drew Dixon, who said that Simmons raped her in his apartment.
In 2023, Simmons’ ex-wife Kimora accused him of abusing her and their daughters. She also said she is the family’s primary caregiver because Simmons stopped providing for the children financially. Aoki stated that her father threatened and abused her sister, intimidated her, etc. In addition, he stalked Aoki’s grandmother at night.
Kimora later shared details of her ex-husband’s harmful actions with her followers on social media. She stressed that Russell’s abusive behavior was out of control, with threats, lies, intimidation tactics and more. Later that day, Simmons apologized to his children on social media, telling them to take it easy.
By the way, Simmons and Kimora Lee met in November 1991, when she was 16 years old and studied in school. Russell was 18 years older than her. In 2008, the couple officially divorced. Kimora Lee is a model, businesswoman, fashion designer, venture capitalist, TV host and more.