Happy Bornday to Russell Simmons from #FreshRadio…
4 October 2012 Fresh Radio
who along side Rick Rubin created one of the most dangerous Hip-Hop record labels in history! Def Jam!!!
Hip-Hop mogul Russell Simmons was born Russell Wendell Simmons in Queens, New York, on this day in 1957.
Simmons, the son of municipal civil administrators, as well as the brother of expressionist painter Daniel Simmons Jr. and the legendary Joseph Simmons a.k.a. Run of Run-DMC, began his career as a party promoter and then later managed the career of the legendary Kurtis Blow, landing the famed Harlem MC the first recording contract for a full-length album with a major label for a rap artist.
Then Simmons, in 1984, teamed up with producer and New York University student Rick Rubin who had started a label called Def Jam in his college dorm.
After putting out historical 12 inch singles by T La Rock and LL Cool J, the label soon blossomed into rap music’s premier label at the time, eventually putting out albums by The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, EPMD and yes, Public Enemy.
The label would later sign R’n’B artists like Oran “Juice” Jones and the legendary Blue Magic.
Def Jam would later sign distribution deals with Sony and Polygram with the company eventually being bought out by The Universal Group which had become Polygram’s parent umbrella in the 1990’s.
DJ Bee Def Jam, Russell Simmons