During the recent NBA All-Star weekend festivities in Denver, Russell Simmons and the Rev. Run made a joint appearance at a business class at UC Denver. Arranged by mtvU, the event was ostensibly focused on marketing, however Simmons is described as "straying away from topics" with Run pushing him "back on track with some good-hearted ribbing at his brother’s expense." He was also said to have emphasized "basic values like integrity" and suggested that students should "market only for a product that had their total support so that they could approach their work with a clean conscience."
Simmons is then quoted as saying, "Do something that’s truthful and good, or dig your own grave and f*ck you," earning ProHipHop’s platinum plated What The f*ck?!? award for giving out sh*tty advice to people who are unlikely to have such a luxurious approach to accepting accounts.
Not to be outdone, students are said to have focused their questions on the "present and future of hip-hop" rather than on business topics. In a rare moment of clarity, Simmons is described as explaining that his activities were motivated by "market pressures" rather than having his "finger on the pulse of future culture."
In fact, I’m running into more comments that Simmons is making in which he admits what has long been understood, that he’s a close follower who depends on the insights of others to identify the next wave of talent. Of course, that’s the story of a lot of great businessmen, including Bill Gates, so it’s hard to fault him for that.
