Russell Simmons
Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He has promoted veganism and a yoga lifestyle, and published books on lifestyle, health, and entrepreneurship. Simmons' net worth was estimated at $340 million in 2011. After producing or managing artists such as Kurtis Blow, Run DMC, Whodini, and Jimmy Spicer, Simmons joined forces with producer Rick Rubin to found Def Jam Recordings. Under Simmons' leadership as chairman, Def Jam signed acts including the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Jay-Z, DMX, and Kanye West. From 1992 to 1997, he also produced the Def Comedy Jam television program. In 2017, Simmons was publicly accused of sexual assault by multiple women; he denied the allegations. Following these allegations, Simmons stepped down from his various business roles and charities, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Russell Simins
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was an American three-piece rock band from New York City, formed in 1991. The group consisted of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spencer on vocals, guitar and theremin. Their musical style is largely rooted in rock and roll; however, the band draws influences from punk, blues, garage, rockabilly, soul, noise rock, rhythm and blues and hip hop. The band released nine official studio albums, collaborative records with Dub Narcotic Sound System and R.L. Burnside as well as numerous live, singles, out-take albums, compilations, remix albums. In 2010, the band released a series of expanded reissues. Throughout the course of their career, this experimental sound and occasionally unconventional recording techniques has allowed the band to work with such artists as Elliott Smith, Beck, Solomon Burke, Steve Albini, Martina Topley-Bird, and Mike D of the Beastie Boys. Histor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jimmy Spicer
James Bromley Spicer (May 12, 1958 – September 27, 2019) was an American hip hop recording artist who released a number of old school rap singles during the late 1970s and early 1980s including the classic "Dollar Bill Y'all," for which he was perhaps best known.Kellman, AndyJimmy Spicer Biography, AllMusic, retrieved 2011-08-08 Spicer was managed by Russell Simmons' Rush Management. His single "The Bubble Bunch" featured Jellybean Benitez's first remix. An obituary of Spicer in ''The New York Times'' described his 15-minute-long debut single, "Adventures of Super Rhyme," as being "widely regarded as the first true storytelling rap." Spicer's music was sampled by hip-hop artists including the Wu-Tang Clan, 2Pac, De La Soul, and Busta Rhymes. Rapper LL Cool J has cited Spicer's music as sparking his interest in hip-hop. Spicer had four daughters, Angelina, Leticia, Janel, and Princess and one son, James. In 2018, he was diagnosed with advanced brain and lung cancer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Run-DMC
Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip-hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip-hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new-school hip-hop music and helped usher in the golden age hip-hop. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship. With the release of '' Run-D.M.C.'' (1984), Run-DMC became the first hip-hop group to achieve a Gold record. ''Run-D.M.C.'' was followed with the certified Platinum record '' King of Rock'' (1985), making Run-DMC the first hip-hop group to go platinum. '' Raising Hell'' (1986) became the first multi-platinum hip-hop record. Run-DMC's cover of " Walk This Wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New York City Parks And Recreation Department
The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the city's natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's residents and visitors. NYC Parks maintains more than 1,700 public spaces, including parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities, across the city's five boroughs. It is responsible for over 1,000 playgrounds, 800 playing fields, 550 tennis courts, 35 major recreation centers, 66 pools, of beaches, and 13 golf courses, as well as 7 nature centers, 6 ice skating rinks, over 2,000 greenstreets, and 4 major stadiums. NYC Parks also cares for park flora and fauna, community gardens, 23 historic houses, over 1,200 statues and monuments, and more than 2.5 million trees. The total area of the properties maintained by the department is over . Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Musical ensemble, bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All-Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar, and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as compact discs (CDs) replaced LP record, LPs and cassette (format), cassettes as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it, he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he res ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn and by Nassau County, New York, Nassau County to its east, and shares maritime borders with the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island, as well as with New Jersey. Queens is one of the most linguistics, linguistically and ethnically diverse places in the world. With a population of 2,405,464 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Queens is the second-most populous county in New York state, behind Kings County (Brooklyn), and is therefore also the second-most populous of the five New York City boroughs. If Queens were its own city, it would be the List of United States cities by population, fourth most-populous in the U.S. after the rest of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Queens is the fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hollis, Queens
Hollis is a residential middle class, middle-class neighborhood within the southeastern section of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Queens. While a predominantly African-American community, there are small minorities of Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanics and South Asian Americans, South Asians residing in the area. Boundaries are considered to be 181st Street to the west, Hillside Avenue to the north, Francis Lewis Boulevard to the east, and Murdock Avenue to the south. Hollis is located between Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica to the west and Queens Village, Queens, Queens Village to the east. Hollis is located in Queens Community Board 12, Queens Community District 12 and its ZIP Codes are 11423 and 11412. It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 103rd Precinct. Politically, Hollis is represented by the New York City Council's 23rd and 27th Districts. History The first European settlers were Dutch homesteaders in the 17th century. A centu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sexual Assault
Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence that includes child sexual abuse, groping, rape (forced sexual penetration, no matter how slight), drug facilitated sexual assault, and the torture of the person in a sexual manner. Definition Generally, sexual assault is defined as unwanted sexual contact. The National Center for Victims of Crime states: In the United States, the definition of sexual assault varies widely among the individual states. However, in most states sexual assault occurs when there is lack of consent from one of the individuals involved. Consent must take place between two adults who are not incapacitated and consent may change, by being withdrawn, at any time during the sexual act. Sexual assault can be defined as viola ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Def Comedy Jam
''Def Comedy Jam'' is an HBO television series produced by Russell Simmons, Stan Lathan, and Bob Sumner. The series was hosted by Martin Lawrence and Joe Torry in its first six seasons, Mike Epps in its seventh season, and D. L. Hughley in its eighth season. Simmons and long-time collaborator Lathan were inspired to make ''Def Comedy Jam'' by The Uptown Comedy Club in Harlem, New York and The Comedy Act Theatre in Los Angeles, California. They teamed up with Def Jam Records label executive and veteran comedy scout Sumner to launch the show. The series had its original run from 1992 to 1997, and in 2006 it returned in the HBO fall lineup. The show helped to launch the careers of several African-American stand-up comedians. On 10 September 2017, a Netflix special, ''Def Comedy Jam 25'', was filmed at the Beverly Hilton. It was shown on 26 September 2017 and featured many of the comedy stars listed below. Notable performers * Kid Capri * Katt Williams *Dave Chappelle * Mike Ep ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After dropping out of college to pursue a career in music, West began producing for regional artists in the Chicago area. As an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, he co-produced albums such as Jay-Z's ''The Blueprint'' (2001) before signing with the label as a recording artist. West's debut studio album, ''The College Dropout'' (2004), was met with critical acclaim and yielded the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100-number one single "Slow Jamz". He topped the chart on four other occasions with the singles "Gold Digger (Kanye West song), Gold Digger" (2005), "Stronger (Kanye West song), Stronger" (2007), "E.T. (song), E.T." (2011, as a featured artist), and "Carnival (¥$ song), Carnival" (2024). ''The College Dropout'', and five ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the greatest rapper of all time by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' and ''Vibe (magazine), Vibe'' in 2023. Known for his complex lyrical ability—which often uses double entendres and word play—and Braggadocio (rap), braggadocio, his music is built upon a rags to riches narrative. He served as president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007, and founded the entertainment company Roc Nation the following year. A protégé of fellow New York City-based rapper Jaz-O, Jay-Z began his musical career in the late 1980s; he co-founded the record label Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994 to release his first two studio albums ''Reasonable Doubt (album), Reasonable Doubt'' (1996) and ''In My Lifetime, Vol. 1'' (1997), both o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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LL Cool J
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip hop acts Beastie Boys and Run-DMC. Signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1984, LL Cool J's breakthrough came with his single "I Need a Beat" and his landmark debut album, ''Radio'' (1985). He achieved further commercial and critical success with the albums '' Bigger and Deffer'' (1987), '' Walking with a Panther'' (1989), '' Mama Said Knock You Out'' (1990), '' Mr. Smith'' (1995), and ''Phenomenon'' (1997). His twelfth album, '' Exit 13'' (2008), was his last in his long-tenured deal with Def Jam. He later re-signed with the label and released his fourteenth album, ''The FORCE'' (2024). LL Cool J has appeared in numerous films, including '' Halloween H20'', '' In Too Deep'', '' Any Given Sunday'', '' Deep Blue Sea'', '' S.W.A.T.'', '' Mindhunte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |