Russell Simmons is best known for being the co-founder of Def Jam Records, and was a force behind the hip-hop revolution and launching the careers of such acts as the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J and Run-DMC. The entrepreneur and philanthropist was born in 1957 in New York City. Simmons left college to pursue his passion in promoting upcoming hip hop artists and in 1984, he and partner Rick Rubin founded Def Jam Records. Def Jam signed the forerunners of the hip hop movement including the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J and Run-DMC. Simmons saw this as the beginning of building a hip hop empire. Rush Communications firm was comprised of Baby Phat clothing company, television shows, a magazine, advertising company and a management company. His production company produced films including The Nutty Professor and Krush Groove. Simmons helped to found the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, the Rush Philanthropic Organization and the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. He actively supports PETA and was named Goodwill Ambassador to fight war, poverty and HIV/AIDS. Simmons also authored a book, Do You! 12 Laws To Access The Power In You To Achieve Happiness And Success. Simmons married model Kimora Lee Simmons in 1998 for ten years. Daughters Ming and Aoki resulted from that union.
‘The advice he gave me, it’s already affected the way I’ve been in the studio,’ the Bawse tells MTV News. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway Rick Ross and Dr. Dre Photo: MTV News There is no rap producer more revered than Dr. Dre . From N.W.A and Snoop Dogg to Eminem and 50 Cent, the legendary hip-hop producer has jump-started the careers of some of the game’s greatest artists. In addition to cultivating new talent in the studio, he has also crafted hits with heavyweights like Jay-Z, Nas and Tupac. And next up is the Bawse. On January 25, Rick Ross tweeted a picture of himself in the studio with DJ Khaled and Dre; while Rozay wouldn’t say exactly what the trio was working on, it’s clear that Dre had a profound impact. “It was amazing, my brother,” Ross told MTV News’ Sway in Miami over the weekend. “We had the opportunity to just first and foremost touch base like bosses. We went out, we had dinner, we just discussed ideas and that led to the studio.” The ever-calculating Ross didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag just yet, but working with Dre has already changed his work habits, he said. “The advice he gave me, it’s already affected the way I’ve been in the studio for the last week,” Rozay said. “So let’s just say he’s full of knowledge and he’s a solid guy. Most definitely that’s maybe my biggest hip-hop influence in the game.” Before Ross became a marquee rap name, he was a fan. He often cites Slick Rick and the Beastie Boys as early influences, and of course Dre is part of that set. “A lot of times when you sit back and you watchin’ greatness in motion, when I think back to [N.W.A’s] Straight Outta Compton or [Snoop Dogg’s] Doggystyle and I think about the smallest things from the skits to the way the records ended to having the opportunity to ask him about certain things about those classic albums,” Ross said of his interaction with the Chronic mastermind, “to just hear the time that was put into it, and the format, it was really priceless knowledge. For him to acknowledge Maybach Music and what I’m doin’ as an artist and a CEO, that was just real inspirational.” Related Artists Rick Ross Dr. Dre
Guns N’ Roses, Donovan and The Faces will also be inducted in April. By Gil Kaufman Beastie Boys Photo: Capitol More than a quarter century after they brought hard rock back to the top of the heap, the original lineup of legendary Los Angeles band Guns N’ Roses will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April. Guns were among the acts named on Wednesday as the Class of 2012, which includes fellow L.A. rockers the Red Hot Chili Peppers , iconic New York rap trio the Beastie Boys , 1960s pop singer Laura Nyro, the Small Faces (and their later Rod Stewart-led incarnation, the Faces), as well as mellow 1960s singer Donovan. Also on the roster for the induction ceremony, which will take place on April 14 in Cleveland and air on HBO in early May, is early influence blues guitarist Freddie King and nonperformer Don Kirshner, who created the Archies and Monkees and hosted the long-running live-music TV show “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.” Among those passed over this year were the Cure, Joan Jett, Heart and hip-hip duo Eric B. & Rakim. Acts become eligible for the Hall 25 years after the release of their first single or album, so this year’s crop all started releasing music in or before the year 1986. Led by the mercurial lead singer Axl Rose, GN’R re-invented hard rock with 1987’s Appetite for Destruction , which featured such indelible glam-punk hits as “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Paradise City,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “It’s So Easy.” The band splintered a decade later amid a clash of egos, disagreement over musical direction and drug issues that resulted in Rose soldiering on alone with a parade of replacement sidemen. Before their induction was announced, buzz had already begun to build around a potential reunion between legendarily unfriendly co-founders Rose and guitarist Slash as well as the rest of the classic line-up, which included rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler. Rose is currently on the road with the new Guns. The Beastie Boys have been mixing rock, rap, soul, punk and funk for more than 30 years, helping to cross hip-hip over into the mainstream in a major way with their bratty 1986 full-length debut, License to Ill , rap’s first #1 album. After providing drunken anthems for a generation thanks to “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To) Party,” and “Brass Monkey,” they followed up with 1989’s head-tripping Paul’s Boutique , which set a new standard for artistry in sampling. They’ve continued to rock the mic over the course of five more studio albums, including this year’s Hot Sauce Committee Part Two . Funk-punk lifers the Red Hot Chili Peppers formed in Los Angeles in 1983 and released their self-titled debut the next year. Formed around the core of hyperkinetic singer Anthony Kiedis, high-energy bassist Flea, late guitarist Hillel Slovak and former drummer Jack Irons, the band made a name for itself with a spastic combo of funk, punk, hard rock and hip-hop, graduating from an underground fanbase to worldwide stardom and Grammy-winning albums thanks to such landmark tracks as “Give It Away,” “Under the Bridge” and “Scar Tissue.” Like the Who, English mod rockers the Small Faces were heavily influenced by American R&B, which they explored on signature songs “Itchycoo Park,” “Lazy Sunday” and “All or Nothing.” In their second phase as the Faces, members included future Rolling Stones rhythm guitarist Ronnie Wood and singer Rod Stewart. Late singer/songwriter Laura Nyro was just 19 when she recorded her debut in 1966, the same year folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary recorded her song, “And When I Die.” The fragile singer with an eclectic style wrote a string of songs that became hits for other acts, including “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Sweet Blindness,” “Wedding Bell Blues” and “Blowin’ Away.” She also scored her own hit with Carole King’s “Up on the Roof.” Psychedelic Folkie Donovan Leitch scored a number of hits in the 1960s, including “Sunshine Superman,” “Mellow Yellow” and “Hurdy Gurdy Man.” Dissension has become one of the reliable side stories of the Rock Hall ceremonies. While such notoriously splintered acts as Led Zeppelin and the Talking Heads managed to set aside differences for one night (Blondie, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Van Halen not so much), the biggest question this year is whether Rose will make nice with his estranged former bandmates. There are also question marks over whether the Beastie Boys will perform, as the group have eschewed public appearances since the July 2009 revelation that member Adam “MCA” Yauch was undergoing treatment for cancer of the salivary gland in the throat. Related Videos MTV First: Red Hot Chili Peppers Related Artists Beastie Boys Guns N’ Roses Red Hot Chili Peppers
‘We enjoy what everybody else is doin’, but our focus is us, and in our minds, we’re the best rap group,’ Joe Budden tells MTV News. By Rob Markman Joe Budden, Crooked I, and Royce da 5’9″ of Slaughterhouse Photo: MTV News At its core, hip-hop is a competitive sport. Hit records are nice, but the greatest MCs are often defined by their wordplay. Judging from fan reaction across Twitter, the highlight of Tuesday’s 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards were the nine different rhyme cipher segments , which showcased a total of 41 MCs all vying for rap supremacy. Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, B.o.B, Machine Gun Kelly, Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group and Eminem and his Shady 2.0 crew all contributed lethal bars to the program. According to Slaughterhouse member Joe Budden, it was Marshall who reigned supreme in his round of rhyming. “We wasn’t chumped, though,” Budden told MTV News on the show’s black carpet. Yelawolf set it off with a tongue-twisting verse, while DJ Premier spun the instrumental from the East Flatbush Project’s 1996 classic “Tried by 12.” Joey threw the gauntlet next, with lines referencing some of rap’s elite, including Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne. “I’m grown, I’m not watching the throne, I’m sabotaging it,” he spit before dropping, “Enough raps from you scrub cats about cocking the snub back/ Wayne couldn’t teach me how to love that.” When asked to contemplate Shady’s place among other rap crews, Crooked I pounded his chest and nominated Slaughterhouse for the highest honor. “Right now, we’re the best f—in’ rap group, straight up,” he said. “Best rap group in the universe,” Budden chimed in. “We thinking about us and what we’re doin’. We enjoy what everybody else is doin’, but our focus is us, and in our minds, we’re the best rap group.” After last night’s performance, Slaughterhouse certainly made a case. With his verse, Royce Da 5’9″ expressed his appreciation for pop star Rihanna, and after the cipher aired, “Hi Rihanna” became a trending topic on Twitter. Still, the segment’s main draw was Eminem, who stacked rhyme triplets atop each other in vivid and witty ways. Taking poetic license, Em described his rollout plans for both Slaughterhouse and Yelawolf’s upcoming album releases, spitting: “You’re about to see peace destroyed, it’ll never be restored/ When I unleash these beastly hoards on your CD stores/ Wanna stop it? You will need a priest, at least three swords/ A license to ill from the Beastie Boys, three Ouija Boards and a squeegee/ And please be warned, don’t ask what the squeegees for/ Or the holy water, acid raps that’ll eat these floors.” And it all sounds delightful. Who had your favorite verse during the BET Hip Hop Awards ciphers? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Slaughterhouse Eminem
Video of the Year Moonman has gone to a woman every year since the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. By Jocelyn Vena Past Video of the Year winners meet 2011 Video of the Year nominees Photo: Getty Images/ Columbia/ Capitol/ MTV News Every year since 2007, a woman has taken home the Video of the Year Moonman at the MTV Video Music Awards . The ladies really have become the undeniable stars of the category. So, who has won the prize the past four VMAs? In 2007, Rihanna (featuring Jay-Z) won it for “Umbrella.” A year later, in 2008, Britney Spears dominated with “Piece of Me.” Beyoncé took it in 2009 for her anthem “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),” and Lady Gaga (and her meat dress) won it last year, 2010, for her “Bad Romance” video. Sunday night, will a woman once again take home the ultimate Moonman for Video of the Year? Well, there’s a 40 percent chance, mathematically, that a female artist will win the prize. Two of the five nominees are women: Adele (“Rolling in the Deep”) and Katy Perry (“Firework”) face off against the Beastie Boys, Bruno Mars and Tyler, the Creator. Will the ladies cancel each other out, or will one of them rise victorious? “I think it has to be a lady this year, as in my mind, it’s a two-person race between Katy Perry and Adele ,” Entertainment Weekly staff writer Kyle Anderson told MTV News. “The former because it seems like an appropriate culmination to an unprecedented chart-ruling year, and the latter because it’s a feel-good story of quality and skill triumphing over glitz and artificiality.” While Anderson notes it could go either way regarding Adele and Perry, celeb blogger Perez Hilton had a more definite idea who will win. “The women continue their hot streak. Without a doubt, the winner is going to be Adele,” he predicted. “This is her year. She’s been the critical darling and has also been embraced by the masses in a way we haven’t seen in a really long time. She’s actually selling albums, week after week, and lots of them. She deserves to win every single award she’s nominated for.” Anderson added that the performances scheduled for the night are a major indication that a lady will win. “Either way, it’s going to be five straight victories for XX chromosomes,” he predicted. “And it should also be noted that considering the biggest performers will also be female — Adele, Lady Gaga, Beyonc
It’s time for a trip down memory lane. Once upon a time, in a far off kingdom called New York City, lived a popular little show called “Total Request Live” or simply “TRL.” It drew hoards of teens to Times Square, where they could stand in the street, block traffic and scream at some of Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : MTV Newsroom Discovery Date : 19/07/2011 20:45 Number of articles : 2
Two whimsical Beastie Boys videos in one day . This one is perhaps less artistic in a traditional sense, but Grover can jam on the flute. Take it away, sir. [ Wonderful Creative ] Read more posts by Amanda Dobbins Filed Under: clickables , beastie boys , music , sesame street , tv , video Broadcasting platform : Vimeo Source : Vulture Discovery Date : 19/07/2011 21:00 Number of articles : 4
Cali trio who created the ‘cat daddy’ tell MTV News they’re more than just dancing MCs — they’re ‘renaissance artists.’ By Alvin Blanco, with reporting by Steven Roberts Rej3ctz Photo: Getty Images MTV News’ New West Week coverage obviously entails focusing on the music coming out of the surging L.A. hip-hop scene, but the movement’s fashion and dance culture also deserves special attention too. That’s where Cali trio the Rej3ctz — Mowii (South Central), Pee Wee (Inglewood) and Bounce (Compton) — glide into the picture. The trio already have a fan in Chris Brown, who appeared in their video for “Cat Daddy,” also the name of their latest dance, which has been spreading like wildfire thanks to a viral video that has banked more than 21 million YouTube views. The Rej3ctz aren’t just dancers moonlighting as rappers though. They insist they have too many talents to limit themselves to just those titles. They’re also prominent members of Cali’s party scene. “We created something called ‘renaissance artist,’ ” Mowii told MTV News. “So for all those who like to tell people [no] and destroy their dreams. Nah, we are the renaissance artists. It means you have the art, the life, the style of fashion, to do what you want, no matter what anybody says. That’s why we’re renaissance artists. That’s why we’re directing, that’s why we’re choreographing, that’s why we’re making up our own dances, our own lane, our own style.” Dances have always been a part of hip-hop culture — from the running man to the Soulja Boy dance — and the Rej3ctz are embracing their dance-floor talents. In recent years, dances with accompanying songs have become hugely popular, including Cali Swag District’s “Teach Me How to Dougie” and the New Boyz ‘s “You’re a Jerk.” (Cali natives Audio Push also dropped “Teach Me How to Jerk.”) Besides the cat daddy dance and its accompanying song, off their TheFUNKtion vs theKICKback mixtape, the Rej3ctz also claim to have created all the fancy moves coming out of the West Coast like jerkin’ or whatever spastic motion kids in colorful gear are performing. “Currently, all the dances that came from the West, the Rej3ctz have made them up. Period,” Mowii said. “We were doing music and dancing at the time. And the New Boyz called us over and were like, ‘Yo, bro, we realized we was using your dance and we respect y’all enough to invite you all out, so please show some support,’ so I was like, ‘Ben J and Legacy, man, you got it.’ So, we hopped up that morning and went out to support their video.” For now, the Rej3ctz are continuing to spin their popularity into bigger opportunities. They’re set to be featured in the forthcoming Mario Van Peebles-directed film “We the Party.” The acclaimed director also helmed their video for “Cat Daddy 2.0,” which is based on the group’s audition for “We the Party.” No matter how busy their schedules get, the always dazzlingly dressed Rej3ctz plan on having a good time. “I think people are at a point where they’re like, ‘Let’s have fun,’ ” Mowii said. “Let’s have fun, let’s stop doing too much, man. There’s too many killings going on right now, too much violence around the world,” he added. “It’s too serious right now. People aren’t talking about something real. Let’s have fun … thank you.” Stick with us all week as MTV News turns the spotlight on the New West, including a special edition of “RapFix Live” with Cali’s own Tyga on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com. We’re bringing you the next wave of hip-hop acts helping restore faith in the L.A. rap scene. From groups like Odd Future to rising MCs like Dom Kennedy, we’ll bring you up close and personal to these artists as they carve their own lanes in the post-gangsta rap era. Keep it locked here for the next week for more on the West Coast up-and-comers! Related Videos The New West: An In-Depth Look At L.A. Hip-Hop
With their new film set to premiere at midnight, Bigger Than the Sound looks back at the Beasties’ authentic but odd history. By James Montgomery Danny McBride, Seth Rogen and Elijah Wood in the Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right Revisted” video Photo: Capitol Back in the summer of 1992, I wasn’t really concerned with the Beastie Boys’ legacy. I wasn’t aware of the seismic shift they had undergone with Check Your Head or the to-the-brink-and-back journey they’d taken just to make the album. Instead, I was focused on getting my Dickies to sag just so and tracking down a pom-pom beanie like MCA wore on the album’s cover. So deep was my Beastie-mania that I was willing to wear a knit cap and khakis in July. In Florida. And I wasn’t alone (at least not in my high school). Because in 1992, everyone I knew lived and breathed the Beastie Boys, and their fantastically rattling comeback album Check Your Head. Of course, at the time, none of us really knew it was a comeback album; we just thought it was the coolest thing we’d ever heard — a fuzzy, funky think that sounded like nothing else on the radio — and, by proxy, the Beasties were the coolest guys on the planet (or, at least, the coolest guys in suburban Orlando). They dressed like skaters, they were obsessed with the ABA and creaky badasses like Richard Holmes and the Ohio Players, and they channeled the swagger of everyone from Columbo to Dolemite. They were, whether they knew it or not, the underground railroad of hip. If you wanted to know what was cool, and you wanted to know before anyone else, you went to the Beastie Boys. It’s only years later that I realize that prescient coolness is what has made the Beastie Boys what they are today: a band whose career rivals any other. They have been together in their current incarnation for nearly 30 years and have released a slew of albums, the overwhelming majority of which are very good (their latest, The Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, is due May 3), but it’s not their longevity or their back catalog that have earned them respect; it’s their unerring ability to continuously reinvent themselves, seemingly at will, and without ever getting snagged the way so many of their contemporaries have. In 1986, with License to Ill, they were party-hearty terrors. On 1989’s epochal Paul’s Boutique, they were stony sample-meisters. Check Your Head saw them zigging at a time when others were zagging; rather than join the debate over just how the ’90s would sound, they decided to head back to the ’70s ( Head remains a decidedly lo-fi thing to this day). Sure, 1994’s Ill Communication was in the same vein, but there also emerged a newfound consciousness, one they’d explore more fully with their series of Tibetan Freedom Concerts. In ’98, with Hello Nasty (and the accompanying “Intergalactic” video), they got a jump on the Kid Robot “designer toy” fetish that broke through to the mainstream late in the 2000s. And on 2004’s To the 5 Boroughs, they returned to their hip-hop roots and celebrated the city in which they live (though, to be honest, the less said about this album the better). In between all that, they released EPs that saw them dabble in hardcore punk and jazzy instrumentals (to name just a few), but never once did anyone bring up the question of authenticity. And there’s a reason for that — the same reason they’ve become the revered act they are today. No matter how they reimagined themselves, it always came from the same place: the heart. There is an unquestionable authenticity to everything the Beastie Boys do, because they’re not doing it to be contrary or successful; they’re doing it because it’s what they want to do. And it’s only now that people seem to realize just how influential that authenticity really is. At midnight Wednesday — on MTV2, mtvU, VH1 Classic and Palladia — they’ll premiere “Fight for Your Right Revisited,” a short film/ career retrospective that includes plenty of nods to their past — it tells the wholly imagined story of what happened after 1987’s legendary “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)” video — but also features cameos by a whole lot of “f— it, let’s do something funny” actors like Will Ferrell and Danny McBride, who were 19 and 11, respectively, when the original video premiered and probably couldn’t help but have been influenced by its sublimely stoopid sentiments, not to mention everything that came after. So, in a lot of ways, Ferrell and McBride are a lot like you or I. They were drawn to the Beastie Boys because they sensed in them something revelatory and real, and they stuck around because neither of those things ever changed. Of course, leave it to the Beasties to turn the convention of career retrospection on its ear. Rather than release some deluxe edition of License, they’ve instead made an incredibly insular short film that rewrites history with each frame. It’s deceptively brilliant, really. And the same can be said for the B-Boys themselves. Without really trying, they’ve fashioned the kind of anti-career that many aspire to, yet few ever attain. And no matter where they go from here, you’ll know it’ll be someplace else entirely. Even if they’re just doing it for themselves. Don’t miss “Fight for Your Right Revisisted” on Wednesday at midnight on MTV2, mtvU, VH1 Classic and Palladia.
Danny McBride, Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood and John C. Reilly star as past and future Beastie Boys. By Gil Kaufman Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood and Danny McBride in the “Fight For Your Right Revisited” trailer Photo: Capitol Records Adam Horowitz must throw some epic pool parties. That’s one of the major takeaways from the two-minute trailer released on Thursday for the Beastie Boys’ celebrity-packed short film, “Fight for Your Right Revisited.” The trailer dropped just as fans got their second taste of Beastie goodness from the group’s upcoming Hot Sauce Committee Part Two album (due out May 3), the funktastic throwback jam, “Make Some Noise.” One of the short’s stars, “Your Highness” star Danny McBride, broke down the action for MTV News a few months ago at Sundance, dishing on his portrayal of B-Boy MCA alongside Elijah Woods’ Ad-Rock and Seth Rogen’s Mike D after the film’s debut. But even his description of the demented action in the film that chronicles what happened to the Beasties after the events of the original “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)” video in 1987 couldn’t prepare fans for the window-smashing, F-bomb dropping, “Wait, was that …?” action in the finished product. Among the other celebs popping up in the clip: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Jack Black, Rainn Wilson, Rashida Jones, Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Chlo
