Russell Simmons

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  Russell Simmons heard Eddie Cheeba perform in Harlem in 1977 and walked away convinced he had just witnessed, in his own words, "the invention of the wheel." That moment crystallized something for the kid from Hollis, Queens: hip hop was not a fad. It was a force that could move through music, fashion, television, activism, and commerce all at once. What follows is the story of how Simmons built one of the most consequential business empires to emerge from American popular culture, and how that empire came apart in 2017 under the weight of sexual misconduct allegations from more than a dozen women.

• 2. From Hollis to Harlem

  ›

  Russell Wendell Simmons was born on the 4th of October, 1957, in the Hollis neighborhood of Queens. His father administered a public school and his mother worked for the New York City Parks and Recreation Department. Two of his brothers would also become public figures: Daniel Simmons Jr. as a painter, and Joseph Simmons as Rev Run of Run-DMC.

  After graduating from August Martin High School in 1975, Simmons briefly attended the City College of New York in Harlem. There he met a young DJ and B-boy named Kurt Walker, who pulled him into the emerging hip hop scene. Then came the Cheeba show in 1977, and everything locked into place.

  Two years later, in 1979, Simmons met Robert Ford Jr., who began bringing him to industry events and teaching him the mechanics of the music business. Simmons would later credit Ford as his "guru," the person who translated his enthusiasm into professional knowledge.

• 3. Building Def Jam

  ›

  Def Jam Recordings was co-founded in 1984 when Simmons joined forces with producer Rick Rubin. Before that partnership, Simmons had already been managing and producing artists including Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC, Whodini, and Jimmy Spicer, building a reputation as someone who understood what hip hop audiences actually wanted.

  Under Simmons as chairman, Def Jam assembled a roster that reads like a catalogue of the genre's formative voices: Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Jay-Z, DMX, and Kanye West all recorded for the label at different points. The label's reach extended well beyond any single act. In 1998, after a series of mergers, Simmons sold his share of Def Jam to Universal Music Group for $120 million.

  His company Rush Communications Inc. expanded to include more than ten businesses and three non-profits, with his partner Stan Lathan helping to produce both Def Comedy Jam and Def Poetry Jam for HBO. The Broadway adaptation, Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, launched in 2002.

• 4. Phat Farm and Fashion

  ›

  In 1992, Simmons launched Phat Fashions LLC out of a single shop in the SoHo district of Manhattan. The clothing line, sold under the Phat Farm and Baby Phat labels, drew design influence from Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger while directing that energy toward hip hop audiences. Simmons used his existing relationships with prominent rap artists to promote the brand to a wide audience.

  Phat Fashions eventually covered men's, women's, and children's clothing, then expanded into jewelry, perfume, and other merchandise. At its height, the line was carried by roughly 3,000 retailers across the United States and operated stores in both New York and Montreal.

  In 2004, Simmons sold Phat Farm and Baby Phat to the Kellwood Company for $140 million, twelve years after opening that first SoHo shop. That same year he formed Russell Simmons Music Group as a joint venture with Universal Music's Island Def Jam Music Group, with Tony Austin serving as the label's president.

• 5. Activism and Philanthropy

  ›

  Simmons watched the film Diet for a New America in the 1990s and subsequently became a vegan by 1999. He describes himself as a Christian yogi who practices Jivamukti Yoga, a tradition that encourages vegetarianism alongside social and environmental activism. He also practices Transcendental Meditation and supports the David Lynch Foundation, which works to make TM accessible to any child in America who wants to learn it.

  PETA awarded him their 2001 Humanitarian Award and named him their 2011 Person of the Year for his advocacy around animal rights and veganism. In 2009, he organized thousands of protesters and hip-hop celebrities at City Hall in New York to demand reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws.

  Simmons and his brothers founded the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation in 1995. The foundation serves about 3,000 students annually, operates the Rush Arts Gallery in Chelsea, Manhattan and the Corridor Gallery in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, and supports the work of more than 100 community and emerging artists. In May 2009, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Simmons Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Slavery Memorial. In 2011, he took part in the Occupy Wall Street protests, visiting Zuccotti Park repeatedly over many consecutive days.

• 6. Allegations and Resignation

  ›

  In November 2017, model Keri Claussen Khalighi publicly accused Simmons of raping her in 1991, when she was 17. As coverage of that allegation spread, writer Jenny Lumet published a guest column in The Hollywood Reporter on the 30th of November, 2017, describing an alleged rape that also took place in 1991. Simmons responded by announcing he would step down from his business positions. On the same day, HBO announced it would remove his name and likeness from his stand-up comedy specials beginning with the December 1 episode.

  On the 13th of December, 2017, two separate investigative reports appeared: the Los Angeles Times published accounts from five women accusing Simmons of sexual misconduct including an alleged rape, while The New York Times published accounts from four additional women including three more alleged rapes. Simmons stated publicly that he had "never had a sexual encounter that was not consensual or lawful. Ever."

  The accuser list grew to include a wide range of women in the entertainment industry: singers, lawyers, screenwriters, publicists, filmmakers, actors, and music executives. Jenny Lumet is the daughter of filmmaker Sidney Lumet and the granddaughter of singer and civil rights activist Lena Horne. In her column she wrote: "I feel a pang to protect your daughters. I don't think you are inclined to protect mine."

  A documentary film about the allegations, On the Record, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on the 25th of January, 2020, and was released on HBO Max on the 27th of May, 2020. Oprah Winfrey, initially attached as executive producer, withdrew after Simmons pressured her to cancel the film's release, stating she found "inconsistencies" in one accuser's story that "gave me pause." Winfrey also said she believes the women who have accused Simmons. A lawsuit filed in February 2024 in New York Federal Court alleged that Simmons sexually assaulted and harassed an executive at Def Jam during the 1990s, and a separate defamation suit was filed that same month by former Def Jam executive Drew Dixon.