Russell Simmons was interviewed for NPR by Farai Chideya earlier this month in an intense reminder of the dangers of feeding one’s ego with spiritual practices such as yoga.
When he’s asked if he feels that the kind of music his company produces can have harmful effects, the conversation can turn volatile, as it did during our sit-down. At one point, Simmons characterized our discussion in less-than-family-friendly terms…While he is going off, he is leaning off — away from the mic, that is. He’s talking to his assistant in studio, complaining about the interview, and I’m thinking, "Is he about to run the heck out of here?"
Luckily, he didn’t. In the end, after a long back-and-forth, Simmons explained that his role is to promote all of hip-hop, good and bad, not to be a judge or a gate-keeper.
"Did they tell you why I came here?" Simmons asks once things cool down. "My job is as a servant of hip-hop. That’s my job, and people who criticize are not able to serve properly."
There’s plenty more in the interview for both fans and foes.
Somebody in RS’s circle should let him know its bad for potential business deals to continue to be volatile towards the subject that made him millions.
It’s going to come up, and it’s going to come up frequently; he might as well man up and acknowledge that people, even hip-hoppers, can grow and mature.