Category: Whats Buzzing in the Streets

MC Lyte (born Lana Michelle Moorer; October 11, 1970) is an American rapper who first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first solo female rapper to release a full album with 1988’s critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. She has long been considered one of hip-hop’s pioneer feminists.Lana Michelle Moorer was born in 1970. Raised in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, she began rapping at the age of 12.She regards Milk D and DJ Giz, the hip hop duo Audio Two, as “totally like [her] brothers”, because the three grew up together. Audio Two’s father Nat Robinson started a label for them called First Priority. After making the label, Robinson cut a deal with Atlantic with one condition, that Lana would get a record contract with Atlantic as well.Originally, her stage name was Sparkle. At age 14, she began recording her first track, although it took two years before it was able to be released. In 1987, when she was 17, Lyte began publicly outshining other MCs. She was also featured in the remix and music video of “I Want Your (Hands on Me)” by Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor which debuted in May 1988 on MTV. In September 1988, she released her first album, Lyte as a Rock. Written over the course of many years, the album was noted for such hits as “Paper Thin”, its title track, and the battle rap “10% Dis”, a response from then-Hurby Azor associate, Antoinette. Both rappers released battle records against each other. Lyte followed her debut with 1989’s Eyes on This, which spawned the hits “Cha Cha Cha” and “Cappucino”. Both albums were notable for Lyte’s uncensored lyrical matter. She sweetened up a little on 1991’s Act Like You Know, noted for its new jack swing sound and the hit single “Poor Georgie”. Lyte’s fourth album, 1993’s Ain’t No Other, became her first to reach gold status and was notable for her first top 40 pop hit, “Ruffneck”. “Ruffneck” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Single, making MC Lyte the first female solo rapper ever nominated for a Grammy. She later went on to become a featured artist on hits by Janet Jackson.Two years afterward, Lyte’s fifth album, Bad As I Wanna B, featured production from Jermaine Dupri and Sean Combs. Its hits were “Keep on, Keepin’ On” and “Cold Rock a Party”, the latter of which also featured then up-and-coming rapper, songwriter and producer Missy Elliott. This album was her first with East West Records America and became successful after the aforementioned singles became big hits with “Keep on, Keepin’ On” peaking at the top ten and “Cold Rock a Party” peaking at number eleven. It was her second gold album. Her 1998 follow-up, Seven & Seven, however, was not as successful. She left East West America by the end of the decade. Lyte released the independently produced record The Undaground Heat, featuring Jamie Foxx, in 2003, which was notable for the song “Ride Wit Me”. The single was nominated for both a Grammy and a BET Award.MC Lyte’s song “My Main Aim” was the title song of the video game NBA Live 2005 by EA Sports. In 2005, she released two songs produced by Richard “Wolfie” Wolf called “Can I Get It Now” and “Don’t Walk Away” (with Meechie). In 2007, she released a song called “Mad at Me” and, in 2008, two songs called “Juke Joint” and “Get Lyte”. In 2009 a song titled “Brooklyn” was released, as well as “Craven”.”Dear John” (featuring Common & 10Beats) was released on September 9, 2014 and peaked on the Billboard Twitter Trending 140 chart at number three. After twelve years without an album, MC Lyte’s eighth album, Legend, came out on April 18, 2015. “Ball” (featuring Lil Mama & AV) and “Check” are also singles from the album.Lyte has been featured on television as herself on such shows as MTV Unplugged, In Living Color, Moesha, Cousin Skeeter, New York Undercover, My Wife and Kids, and Sisters in the Name of Rap. She also acted on TV in such shows as In the House, Get Real, Half & Half, Queen of the South, and The District.Her first acting role was in 1991, an off-Broadway theater play titled Club Twelve, a hip-hop twist on Twelfth Night alongside Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, and Lisa Nicole Carson. After she made her film debut in the 1993 movie titled Fly by Night, starring alongside Jeffrey Sams, Ron Brice, and Steve Gomer, she also starred other films, such as A Luv Tale (1999), Train Ride (2000), Civil Brand (2002) and Playa’s Ball (2003). In 2011, she guest starred in the Regular Show episode “Rap It Up”, portraying a member of a hip-hop group also including characters voiced by Tyler, the Creator and Childish Gambino.She met and started dating Marine Corp Veteran and entrepreneur John Wyche in early 2016, after meeting on Match.com. They announced their engagement in May 2017, and were officially wed in August, and are now divorcing.

Written by Dianne Washington

Nicholas Scott “Nick” Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, and radio and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenager on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild ‘N Out, and America’s Got Talent. He acted in the films Drumline, Love Don’t Cost a Thing, and Roll Bounce. As a rapper, he released his debut self-titled album in 2003 with the hit single “Gigolo”, a collaboration with singer R. Kelly. In 2007 he played the role of the fictional footballer TJ Harper in the film Goal 2. In 2006, Cannon recorded singles “Dime Piece” and “My Wife” for a planned album Stages, which was never released. Cannon married American R&B/pop singer Mariah Carey on April 30, 2008.Cannon was born on October 8, 1980, in San Diego, California, the son of Beth (née Hackett), an accountant, and James Cannon, a motivational televangelist. Growing up, he divided his time between San Diego, where his mother lived, and Charlotte, North Carolina, where his father had worked. At age 11, Cannon received his first break doing stand-up comedy on his father’s local cable access program.After graduating in 1998 from Monte Vista High School in Spring Valley, California, Cannon attained a gig as a warm-up comedian for Nickelodeon’s studio audience in Los Angeles, most notably All That, where he also made guest appearances.As a teenager, Cannon formed the rap group “Da G4 Dope Bomb Squad” with his friend Steve Groves; they opened for the likes of Will Smith, LFO, 98 Degrees, and Montell Jordan.After signing with Jive Records in 2001, he was featured alongside Romeo Miller and 3LW on the Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius soundtrack with a cover of the 1988 hit song “Parents Just Don’t Understand”. His debut self titled album was released in 2003 and included the single “Your Pops Don’t Like Me”.In 2005, Cannon formed his own record label, Can I Ball Records, with plans to release his second studio album, entitled Stages, later that year.The album’s first single, “Can I Live?”, a pro-life song, was released in July 2005 followed by the second single “Dime Piece” in March 2006. But it was never released because of Nick Cannon’s acting career.In 2009 Nick Cannon formed a new label after cancelling his old label Can-I-Ball Records entitled N’Credible Entertainment. In 2010, Cannon created a parody of hip hop pioneer Slick Rick entitled “Slick Nick”. He released two songs of the character such as “I’m A Slick Rick” in which he attempted to diss Hip-Hop mega-star Eminem, it was a freestyle of Cali Swag District’s “Teach Me How to Dougie” & “Nick’s Story” which was a Freestyle rap version of Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story”. On December 6, 2010 Nick Cannon released his debut mixtape entitled Child Of The Corn.On July 26, 2013 Nick Cannon premiered his new single “Me Sexy” & announced after 7 years from the shelving of his album Stages he was working on a new second studio album entitled White People Party Music, and will feature collaborations with Afrojack, Pitbull, Future & Polow da Don.The album’s second single “Looking for a Dream” was released on February 11, 2014. The song features Afrojack. The music video was released on VEVO February 13In 2005, Cannon produced and hosted the MTV improv comedy series Wild ‘N Out. That same year he hosted the so-called slime stunt on Nickelodeon’s 2005 Kids’ Choice Awards in which a human cannonball was shot into slime. He hosted the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth seasons, and is currently hosting the ninth season, of America’s Got Talent. He also hosted the first and only season of Nickelodeon’s Friday Night Slimetime. In addition, he was the DJ on Ellen DeGeneres’s Bigger, Longer, And Wider show. On December 11, 2009, Cannon hosted the HALO Awards along with Justin Timberlake, Hayden Panettiere, LeBron James, Kelly Rowland and Alicia Keys.On July 4, 2011, Cannon hosted the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, an annual American competitive eating competition.On November 4, 2013, Cannon was the master of ceremonies as well as an honoree at the annual Ebony Magazine Power 100 Awards.In spring 2014, Cannon will be one of the three hosts of World’s Got Talent with Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.The former Nickelodeon star and MTV Networks persona is now the Chairman of TeenNick and the development and creative consultant of the network since (2009-). In 2012, Nick Cannon created a sketch-comedy series, Incredible Crew starring six teenagers as Cannon wrote and produced the theme song. The show is being produced by Cartoon Network Studios, in association with N’Credible Entertainment.On November 12, 2012, MTV2 announced that they will be reviving Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘n Out, the revived show will be produced by Nick’s N’Credible Entertainment, the series will premiere in 2013 a few returning faces joined by a roster of fresh talents. When asked about the show coming back, Nick said “With our show’s original cast, everyone from Kevin Hart to Katt Williams, Affion Crockett and Taran Killam becoming household names, I am looking forward to working with MTV2 as we work to introduce the biggest comedic stars of tomorrow with the return of Wild ‘N Out.” Rapper Big Boi of Outkast has confirmed in a tweet on Twitter he is shooting an episode on January 29, 2013 in NYC and for people to join in the audience.On November 30, 2012, A picture of Nick was posted on the N’Credible Entertainment website, which reported that Nick signed a deal with NBCUniversal to produce scripted and unscripted material for the network.On January 19, 2010, Cannon started hosting the morning show (6-10AM) with co-hosts Nikki and Southern Sarah Lee at 92.3 NOW FM (WXRK-FM) in New York.Cannon has a weekly chart program called Cannon’s Countdown that is syndicated by CBS Radio.On February 17, 2012, Cannon stepped down from 92.3 NOW citing health issues.On July 13, 2010, Cannon announced that he was going on a comedy tour in fall 2010, beginning at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal.In early 2011, Cannon recorded his first stand-up comedy special titled Mr. Showbiz at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The special premiered on Showtime on May 14, 2011. A digital release of Mr. Showbiz became available on iTunes beginning May 16, 2011, with a physical release of the album on May 31, 2011.With no prior announcement on April 30, 2008, Cannon married singer Mariah Carey at her private estate on Windermere Island in The Bahamas.In April 2011, Carey gave birth to fraternal twins. The daughter is named Monroe Cannon (after Marilyn Monroe), the son, Moroccan Scott Cannon (because Cannon proposed to Carey in her Moroccan-style room; Scott is Cannon’s middle name and his grandmother’s maiden name). Monroe, like her mother, has no middle name.On January 4, 2012, Cannon was hospitalized after suffering from mild kidney failure. He was then hospitalized on February 17, 2012, for blood clots in his lungs. On March 5, 2012, he announced that he had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, lupus nephritis, which was the cause of his recent kidney problems.In 2011, Cannon filmed a public service announcement for Do Something encouraging teens to find a cause about which they are passionate and take action in their communities.Since 2011, Cannon has served as the celebrity spokesperson for the National Association of Letter Carriers’ annual national food drive, which is held throughout the United States on the second Saturday in MayOn May 1, 2013, Cannon and Carey lived out a fairy-tale “Fantasy” wedding at the Disneyland Resort, where they marked their fifth wedding anniversary with a renewal of vows and celebrated their twins’ second birthday.In August 2014 Cannon confirmed after much speculation that he and Carey had separated a few months earlier.September 2014, via his twitter account He posted: I love @MariahCarey and that will never change!!! (sic) Nick also defended Mariah, 44, insisting the criticism she has received in the wake of their separation is completely uncalled for. He added in a series of tweets: What infuriates me most is to hear people slander @MariahCarey .”I will forever be in debted to her for blessing me with our children … I will always love her unconditionally for this and so much more. @MariahCarey is an amazing Mother and I trust her wholeheartedly.Cannon married singer Mariah Carey on April 30, 2008, at her private estate on Windermere Island in The Bahamas. On April 30, 2011, their third wedding anniversary, Carey gave birth to fraternal twins: daughter Monroe (after Marilyn Monroe) and son Moroccan Scott, because Cannon proposed to Carey in her Moroccan-style room; Scott is Cannon’s middle name and his grandmother’s maiden name. Monroe, like her mother, has no middle name. After six years of marriage, the pair separated, and Cannon filed for divorce in 2014, which was finalized in 2016. Following a brief relationship, Cannon had another child, son Golden “Sagon” Cannon, with Brittany Bell on February 21, 2017.Cannon was hospitalized on January 4, 2012, for treatment of “mild kidney failure”, and again on February 17 after a pulmonary embolism. On March 5 he announced that his kidney problems were due to lupus nephritis. Cannon enrolled at Howard University in 2016.On June 2, 2016, Cannon had an interview with Tim Westwood. Westwood said, “Last time I saw you, you were getting ready to battle Eminem.” Cannon responded, “I’m still ready! I’m trying to find him. Where is he? … We gonna be out in the States for the BET Awards. I’m holding a $100,000 battle — whoever wants it — but it has to be someone who can put up 100 grand … I done reached out to Tyga, he didn’t want it. I went to all Slaughterhouse. I did it like Mortal Kombat, I said I’ll take all of them out to get to the boss.” Throughout the interview, Westwood goads Cannon along, saying, “Nick, you’re the best fam. I don’t think you’d win against Eminem, but you are the best in many other ways.” Cannon plays along with everything and says, “At least tell him to show up to the match. I can’t win by default.”On June 16, 2016, Cannon pours out his heart in a track titled “Divorce Papers.” He recently refused to sign divorce papers with his ex-wife Mariah Carey. He also mentioned his father passing away. Cannon used some lines in the track as a response for the hate comments he had from Eminem’s fans, who are known as “Stans”. He mentions Eminem in a few lines. He said that he can relate to the drug life Eminem had. “Em, right now I could really relate to him. Drug habits, all the pain that he was in.” The last thing he mentioned in the track, he talks about himself finally signing the divorce papers. “It’s been over two years and I’m the one that’s been waitin’. It’s fucked up that the time that you spend with your own kids is called ‘visitation’? Man, fuck it, let’s sign these papers.”Y’all can sleep on Nick Cannon if y’all want to, I got mad respect for the brother. HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK!!Nicholas Scott “Nick” Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, and radio and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenager on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild ‘N Out, and America’s Got Talent. He acted in the films Drumline, Love Don’t Cost a Thing, and Roll Bounce. As a rapper, he released his debut self-titled album in 2003 with the hit single “Gigolo”, a collaboration with singer R. Kelly. In 2007 he played the role of the fictional footballer TJ Harper in the film Goal 2. In 2006, Cannon recorded singles “Dime Piece” and “My Wife” for a planned album Stages, which was never released. Cannon married American R&B/pop singer Mariah Carey on April 30, 2008.Cannon was born on October 8, 1980, in San Diego, California, the son of Beth (née Hackett), an accountant, and James Cannon, a motivational televangelist. Growing up, he divided his time between San Diego, where his mother lived, and Charlotte, North Carolina, where his father had worked. At age 11, Cannon received his first break doing stand-up comedy on his father’s local cable access program.After graduating in 1998 from Monte Vista High School in Spring Valley, California, Cannon attained a gig as a warm-up comedian for Nickelodeon’s studio audience in Los Angeles, most notably All That, where he also made guest appearances.As a teenager, Cannon formed the rap group “Da G4 Dope Bomb Squad” with his friend Steve Groves; they opened for the likes of Will Smith, LFO, 98 Degrees, and Montell Jordan.After signing with Jive Records in 2001, he was featured alongside Romeo Miller and 3LW on the Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius soundtrack with a cover of the 1988 hit song “Parents Just Don’t Understand”. His debut self titled album was released in 2003 and included the single “Your Pops Don’t Like Me”.In 2005, Cannon formed his own record label, Can I Ball Records, with plans to release his second studio album, entitled Stages, later that year.The album’s first single, “Can I Live?”, a pro-life song, was released in July 2005 followed by the second single “Dime Piece” in March 2006. But it was never released because of Nick Cannon’s acting career.In 2009 Nick Cannon formed a new label after cancelling his old label Can-I-Ball Records entitled N’Credible Entertainment. In 2010, Cannon created a parody of hip hop pioneer Slick Rick entitled “Slick Nick”. He released two songs of the character such as “I’m A Slick Rick” in which he attempted to diss Hip-Hop mega-star Eminem, it was a freestyle of Cali Swag District’s “Teach Me How to Dougie” & “Nick’s Story” which was a Freestyle rap version of Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story”. On December 6, 2010 Nick Cannon released his debut mixtape entitled Child Of The Corn.On July 26, 2013 Nick Cannon premiered his new single “Me Sexy” & announced after 7 years from the shelving of his album Stages he was working on a new second studio album entitled White People Party Music, and will feature collaborations with Afrojack, Pitbull, Future & Polow da Don.The album’s second single “Looking for a Dream” was released on February 11, 2014. The song features Afrojack. The music video was released on VEVO February 13In 2005, Cannon produced and hosted the MTV improv comedy series Wild ‘N Out. That same year he hosted the so-called slime stunt on Nickelodeon’s 2005 Kids’ Choice Awards in which a human cannonball was shot into slime. He hosted the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth seasons, and is currently hosting the ninth season, of America’s Got Talent. He also hosted the first and only season of Nickelodeon’s Friday Night Slimetime. In addition, he was the DJ on Ellen DeGeneres’s Bigger, Longer, And Wider show. On December 11, 2009, Cannon hosted the HALO Awards along with Justin Timberlake, Hayden Panettiere, LeBron James, Kelly Rowland and Alicia Keys.On July 4, 2011, Cannon hosted the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, an annual American competitive eating competition.On November 4, 2013, Cannon was the master of ceremonies as well as an honoree at the annual Ebony Magazine Power 100 Awards.In spring 2014, Cannon will be one of the three hosts of World’s Got Talent with Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.The former Nickelodeon star and MTV Networks persona is now the Chairman of TeenNick and the development and creative consultant of the network since (2009-). In 2012, Nick Cannon created a sketch-comedy series, Incredible Crew starring six teenagers as Cannon wrote and produced the theme song. The show is being produced by Cartoon Network Studios, in association with N’Credible Entertainment.On November 12, 2012, MTV2 announced that they will be reviving Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘n Out, the revived show will be produced by Nick’s N’Credible Entertainment, the series will premiere in 2013 a few returning faces joined by a roster of fresh talents. When asked about the show coming back, Nick said “With our show’s original cast, everyone from Kevin Hart to Katt Williams, Affion Crockett and Taran Killam becoming household names, I am looking forward to working with MTV2 as we work to introduce the biggest comedic stars of tomorrow with the return of Wild ‘N Out.” Rapper Big Boi of Outkast has confirmed in a tweet on Twitter he is shooting an episode on January 29, 2013 in NYC and for people to join in the audience.On November 30, 2012, A picture of Nick was posted on the N’Credible Entertainment website, which reported that Nick signed a deal with NBCUniversal to produce scripted and unscripted material for the network.On January 19, 2010, Cannon started hosting the morning show (6-10AM) with co-hosts Nikki and Southern Sarah Lee at 92.3 NOW FM (WXRK-FM) in New York.Cannon has a weekly chart program called Cannon’s Countdown that is syndicated by CBS Radio.On February 17, 2012, Cannon stepped down from 92.3 NOW citing health issues.On July 13, 2010, Cannon announced that he was going on a comedy tour in fall 2010, beginning at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal.In early 2011, Cannon recorded his first stand-up comedy special titled Mr. Showbiz at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The special premiered on Showtime on May 14, 2011. A digital release of Mr. Showbiz became available on iTunes beginning May 16, 2011, with a physical release of the album on May 31, 2011.With no prior announcement on April 30, 2008, Cannon married singer Mariah Carey at her private estate on Windermere Island in The Bahamas.In April 2011, Carey gave birth to fraternal twins. The daughter is named Monroe Cannon (after Marilyn Monroe), the son, Moroccan Scott Cannon (because Cannon proposed to Carey in her Moroccan-style room; Scott is Cannon’s middle name and his grandmother’s maiden name). Monroe, like her mother, has no middle name.On January 4, 2012, Cannon was hospitalized after suffering from mild kidney failure. He was then hospitalized on February 17, 2012, for blood clots in his lungs. On March 5, 2012, he announced that he had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, lupus nephritis, which was the cause of his recent kidney problems.In 2011, Cannon filmed a public service announcement for Do Something encouraging teens to find a cause about which they are passionate and take action in their communities.Since 2011, Cannon has served as the celebrity spokesperson for the National Association of Letter Carriers’ annual national food drive, which is held throughout the United States on the second Saturday in MayOn May 1, 2013, Cannon and Carey lived out a fairy-tale “Fantasy” wedding at the Disneyland Resort, where they marked their fifth wedding anniversary with a renewal of vows and celebrated their twins’ second birthday.In August 2014 Cannon confirmed after much speculation that he and Carey had separated a few months earlier.September 2014, via his twitter account He posted: I love @MariahCarey and that will never change!!! (sic) Nick also defended Mariah, 44, insisting the criticism she has received in the wake of their separation is completely uncalled for. He added in a series of tweets: What infuriates me most is to hear people slander @MariahCarey .”I will forever be in debted to her for blessing me with our children … I will always love her unconditionally for this and so much more. @MariahCarey is an amazing Mother and I trust her wholeheartedly.Cannon married singer Mariah Carey on April 30, 2008, at her private estate on Windermere Island in The Bahamas. On April 30, 2011, their third wedding anniversary, Carey gave birth to fraternal twins: daughter Monroe (after Marilyn Monroe) and son Moroccan Scott, because Cannon proposed to Carey in her Moroccan-style room; Scott is Cannon’s middle name and his grandmother’s maiden name. Monroe, like her mother, has no middle name. After six years of marriage, the pair separated, and Cannon filed for divorce in 2014, which was finalized in 2016. Following a brief relationship, Cannon had another child, son Golden “Sagon” Cannon, with Brittany Bell on February 21, 2017.Cannon was hospitalized on January 4, 2012, for treatment of “mild kidney failure”, and again on February 17 after a pulmonary embolism. On March 5 he announced that his kidney problems were due to lupus nephritis. Cannon enrolled at Howard University in 2016.On June 2, 2016, Cannon had an interview with Tim Westwood. Westwood said, “Last time I saw you, you were getting ready to battle Eminem.” Cannon responded, “I’m still ready! I’m trying to find him. Where is he? … We gonna be out in the States for the BET Awards. I’m holding a $100,000 battle — whoever wants it — but it has to be someone who can put up 100 grand … I done reached out to Tyga, he didn’t want it. I went to all Slaughterhouse. I did it like Mortal Kombat, I said I’ll take all of them out to get to the boss.” Throughout the interview, Westwood goads Cannon along, saying, “Nick, you’re the best fam. I don’t think you’d win against Eminem, but you are the best in many other ways.” Cannon plays along with everything and says, “At least tell him to show up to the match. I can’t win by default.”On June 16, 2016, Cannon pours out his heart in a track titled “Divorce Papers.” He recently refused to sign divorce papers with his ex-wife Mariah Carey. He also mentioned his father passing away. Cannon used some lines in the track as a response for the hate comments he had from Eminem’s fans, who are known as “Stans”. He mentions Eminem in a few lines. He said that he can relate to the drug life Eminem had. “Em, right now I could really relate to him. Drug habits, all the pain that he was in.” The last thing he mentioned in the track, he talks about himself finally signing the divorce papers. “It’s been over two years and I’m the one that’s been waitin’. It’s fucked up that the time that you spend with your own kids is called ‘visitation’? Man, fuck it, let’s sign these papers.

Written by Dianne Washington

Born and raised in Hollis, Queens, New York City, his father Daniel was a public school attendance supervisor. He is the older brother of Rev. Joseph Simmons, known as “Run” of Run-DMC. Simmons attended City College of New York but left to begin promoting local rap music acts, including Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC, and producing records. In 1984, he and Rick Rubin founded Def Jam Records, signing the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J and other artists. Def Jam is one piece in Simmons’ corporation, Rush Communications, which includes a management company, a clothing company called Phat Farm, a movie production house, television shows such as Def Comedy Jam, a magazine, and an advertising agency.He married model Kimora Lee Simmons in 1998 and they were divorced in 2006. They have two daughters Ming Lee and Aoki Lee who both model for Baby Phat Kids Collection. Simmons sold his stake in the record company for $100 million to Universal Music Group in 1999. The up and coming component of Rush Communications is the sneaker company Run Athletics, a company that produces the Legacy shoes and the Arthur Ashe shoes. Recently, Simmons brought his show Def Poetry to Broadway earning awards for the youthful and multicultural cast. Simmons, in partnership with a financial institution, released The Rush Card, a line of re-loadable Visa debit cards aimed at consumers who would other wise have problems obtaining a checking/debit account.Simmons contributes to the contemporary civil rights movement and social justice efforts. He aided voting efforts in the 2004 US presidential election. Simmons, a vegan, has also spoken out against cruelty in factory farms and slaughterhouses. In 2005 he began contributing blogs at The Huffington Post. Simmons is working on a project to fight anti-Semitism. This project includes Beyonce, Leonardo Dicaprio, and Will Smith. In August 2006, Simmons hosted a reception in support of Republican United States Senate candidate from Maryland, Michael Steele.Russell Simmons has been vegan since 1999 and advocates Ahimsa and veganism, citing animal rights along with the environmental and health benefits. Simmons is a supporter of Farm Sanctuary, an organization working to end cruelty to farm animals. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals awarded him with the 2001 PETA Humanitarian Award and the 2011 Person of the Year Award.In 2004, Simmons organized thousands of protestors and Hip-Hop celebrities in front of city hall demanding change of the harsh sentencing of the Rockefeller Drug Laws.Simmons became Chairman of Board of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding in 2002. In May 2009, he was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Slavery Memorial at the United Nations to honor the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In a similar vein, Simmons is a supporter of the Somaly Mam Foundation, and was honored at their 2011 gala dinner. Simmons officially endorses the second Muslim Jewish Conference 2011. Together with Rabbi Marc Schneier he served as the official patron of the conference held July 2011 in Kiev, Ukraine. In 2011, he took part in the Occupy Wall Street protests, visiting the protesters at Zuccotti Park often and for many consecutive days.Simmons is also a longtime supporter for gay rights. He encourages marriage equality. In 2011, when the retail corporation Lowe’s withdrew funding from the show All-American Muslim, Simmons promised to pay the Learning Channel for any revenue lost.In 2012, Simmons supported Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich’s re-election campaign, appearing with the politician at various speaking events. In November 2013, he pledged support for New York’s mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio in recognition of his support for animal rights.Simmons describes himself as a Christian yogi, with a love and respect for all religions. Simmons practices a method of Yoga known as Jivamukti Yoga, which encourages vegetarianism and social and environmental activism.Simmons is also a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (TM) and a supporter of the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace, which was established to ensure that any child in America who wants to learn and practice TM can do so.Russell Simmons has been vegan since 1999 and advocates Ahimsa and veganism, citing animal rights along with the environmental and health benefits. Simmons is a supporter of Farm Sanctuary, an organization working to end cruelty to farm animals. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals awarded him the 2001 PETA Humanitarian Award and the 2011 Person of the Year Award.In 2009, Simmons organized thousands of protesters and Hip-Hop celebrities in front of city hall demanding change of the harsh sentencing of the Rockefeller Drug Laws.Simmons became Chairman of Board of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding in 2002. In May 2009, he was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Slavery Memorial at the United Nations to honor the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In a similar vein, Simmons is a supporter of the Somaly Mam Foundation, and was honored at their 2011 gala dinner. Simmons officially endorses the second Muslim Jewish Conference 2011. Together with Rabbi Marc Schneier he served as the official patron of the conference held July 2011 in Kiev, Ukraine. In 2011, he took part in the Occupy Wall Street protests, visiting the protesters at Zuccotti Park often and for many consecutive days.Simmons is also a longtime supporter for gay rights. He encourages marriage equality. In 2011, when the retail corporation Lowe’s withdrew funding from the show All-American Muslim, Simmons promised to pay the Learning Channel for any revenue lost.In 2012, Simmons supported Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich’s re-election campaign, appearing with the politician at various speaking events. In November 2013, he pledged support for New York’s mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio in recognition of his support for animal rights.In 2015, Simmons criticized his friend, real-estate developer and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in an open letter after Trump called for Muslim immigrants to be barred from entering the United States.In 2017, Simmons was listed by UK-based company Richtopia at number 23 in the list of 200 Most Influential Social-Entrepreneurs and Philanthropists Worldwide.

Written by Dianne Washington