Russell Simmons Biography: Def Jam Founder, Hip-Hop Mogul

Biography of Hip-Hop Mogul Russell Simmons

This hip-hop mogul is the brother of a famous rapper, co-founder one of the most recognizable record labels in the world and owns a farm, a PHAT Farm that is... Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be learning more about the life and career of Russell Simmons.

Early Life

Russell Wendell Simmons was born October 4th, 1957 in Queens, New York. He grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, but learned much of his business sense as a marijuana dealer on city streets.

First Hip-Hop Jobs

Simmons started a sociology degree at City College of New York, and in 1978 he began promoting local hip-hop acts. The next year, he teamed up with his friend Kurtis Blow to write the track “Christmas Rappin’,” and the song was a minor success. He eventually left school to focus on his business full-time.

Run-DMC

Another of Simmons’ earliest musical finds was his younger brother’s rap trio, Run-DMC. He helped assemble the group, and they immediately became successful.

Def Jam Recordings

Simmons was already prominent on the hip-hop scene by 1984. That year he partnered with Rick Rubin to launch a record label to release music that was mostly being ignored by larger labels. Simmons was the business mind of Def Jam Recordings, while Rubin was more creative on the production end.

Rush Communications

At the same time, Simmons established Rush Artist Management to handle many of Def Jam’s early artists. This organization became the core of his media empire, Rush Communications.

Early Def Jam Successes

In its early days, Def Jam released work by such up-and-coming artists as the Beastie Boys and LL Cool J. These efforts did well, and in 1985 Simmons and Rubin signed a distribution deal with CBS Records.

Krush Groove

1985 was also the year Simmons produced a movie called “Krush Groove” that centered on the label’s origin story. The film featured many of Def Jam’s artists, and made $20 million at the box office on a $3 million budget. While critics generally hated the project, it was the first time Simmons diversified his business and promoted his artists through different media.

Walk This Way

However, Simmons and Def Jam aimed to get their music to an even wider audience. In 1986, they teamed their stars Run-DMC with rockers Aerosmith to perform a remake of the song, “Walk This Way.” This move single-handedly brought rap to the mainstream, and encouraged pop acts to incorporate hip-hop elements into their music.

Public Enemy

Def Jam’s golden era came with the signing of hardcore hip-hop group Public Enemy. Simmons continued building his brand and credibility on the strength of his artists. What was most striking about his promotional efforts was that the acts he endorsed stayed true to life on the streets in terms of their lyrical content, style of dress and attitudes.

Phat Farm

In 1992, Simmons expanded his empire to include a clothing line. Phat Farm combined preppy sensibilities with hip-hop style, and was another way for Simmons to promote urban culture.

Def Comedy Jam

That year, he also started Def Comedy Jam to give African American comedians a platform for their work. In 1996, his production house had its greatest film success when it produced “The Nutty Professor,” starring Eddie Murphy.

Baby Phat

In 1998, Simmons married his longtime girlfriend, model Kimora Lee. She worked with him at Phat Fashions, and helped launch the Baby Phat spinoff brand that same year.

Universal Buys Def Jam

After years of success, Simmons sold his share of Def Jam to Universal Records for over $100 million in the year 2000. Despite this move, Simmons remained a voice for the urban music community through a variety of pursuits, like Def Poetry Jam and the TV show “Oneworld Music Beat.”

Simmons Sells Phat Farm

In 2004, he sold Phat Farm for $140 million, though his wife stayed on with the company even after they divorced a few years later.

Russell Simmons Music Group

Simmons got back into music in 2005 when he formed the Russell Simmons Music Group as a joint venture with Island Def Jam. By 2011, he was worth an estimated $340 million.

Philanthropy

Aside from his success in business, Simmons has been an active philanthropist for a variety of causes.

Legacy

Russell Simmons is said to understand hip-hop culture better than anyone. His skills as a businessman, talent scout, promoter and marketer have made him a rich man, and have engrained urban music into the American way of life.