Daniel Dwayne "Diggy" Simmons III (born March 21, 1995) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, model, and actor and the fourth child of Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons of

Run DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history ...

. He is currently acting on the hit show ''

Grown-ish ''Grown-ish'' (stylized as ''ish'') is an American sitcom series and a spin-off of the ABC series ''Black-ish''. The single-camera comedy follows the Johnson family's children as they go to college and begin their journeys to adulthood, only to ...

'' as Doug Edwards, a student at Cal U. He, along with his parents and five siblings, were the primary subjects of the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

reality television show ''

Run's House ''Run's House'' is an American reality television series that debuted on October 13, 2005. The series chronicles the family life of former Run–D.M.C. rapper and hip-hop music pioneer Joseph Simmons, also known as Rev Run. Background The ser ...

''. Diggy was also the youngest member of

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, '' Lupe Fiasco's ...

's short-lived rap collective,

All City Chess Club Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, '' Lupe Fiasco's ...

Music career

Music beginnings

Diggy Simmons released his debut

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

, ''The First Flight'', in 2009. More than 100,000 people downloaded the album from Simmons' blog. Following the mixtape release, according to Simmons, five record labels showed interest in signing him; he chose

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

. Early in 2010, Simmons uploaded a video of himself

freestyling Freestyle is a style of improvisation, with or without instrumental beats (Mystrodamus), in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure and with no prior memorization.Kevin Fitzgerald (director), '' Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme' ...

over the

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ...

song, " Made You Look". The video became a viral hit and garnered praise from

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, who responded on Twitter: "I knew this kid was oingto be fresh. I knew it!" It was preceded by the leak of the song "Oh Yeah!", which featured

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom h ...

and

. ''Airborne'', Simmons' second mixtape, was released in 2010. The mixtape track "Great Expectations" was featured that year in a national

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...

television commercial. Simmons released his third mixtape, ''Past, Present(s), Future'', in December. The mixtape, hosted by

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop du ...

, features samples of songs from the 1980s and 1990s by such artists as Nas,

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

and

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. A video was released for the track "

Shook Ones Shook Ones may refer to: *Shook Ones (band), an American musical group * "Shook Ones" (song), a 1994 song by Mobb Deep *"Shook Ones (Part II)", a 1995 song by Mobb Deep *"Shook Ones Pt. II", an episode of American TV series ''Euphoria Eupho ...

", which samples the

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, '' How to Rap: The Art & Sc ...

song of the same name.

2011–2012: MTV's Artist to Watch, XXL Freshmen and ''Unexpected Arrival''

Early the next year, Simmons was named one of ''Billboard'''s "Artists to Watch 2011" and was selected to ''XXL'''s annual

Freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

list. In early 2011, Simmons joined a "behind the scene" group with several up and coming music artists at the time known as "B(before 20)12." Diggy went on his first tour for BET's ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rate ...

'' Closer to My Dreams Tour in the summer of 2011 starring

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

Mac Miller Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known professionally as Mac Miller, was an American rapper and record producer. Miller began his career in Pittsburgh's hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of fifteen. In 2010, h ...

Mindless Behavior Mindless Behavior was an American boy band who were best known for the singles " My Girl" and " Mrs. Right", produced by Walter Millsap. The band was put together in Los Angeles in 2008, by Keisha Gamble, Vincent Herbert and Walter Millsap. The ba ...

Lil Twist Christopher Lynn Moore (born January 11, 1993), better known by his stage name Lil Twist, is an American rapper from Dallas, Texas. He is signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment.Copy, Paste", soon thereafter. "Copy, Paste" peaked at number 24 on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart in September. The song's video was directed by Phil the God, who previously directed Simmons' "Made You Look", "What They Been Waiting For" and "Shook Ones". Simmons performed the song during the pre-show for the 2011

BET Awards The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

. His second tour was Scream Tour's Next Generation Tour in the fall of 2011 with

Jacob Latimore Jacob O'Neal Latimore (born August 10, 1996) is an American actor, singer and dancer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 2016, Latimore released his debut album ''Connection''. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in ''Black Nativity'', ''Th ...

New Boyz New Boyz was a hip-hop duo that consisted of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas. They debuted in the spring of 2009 with their viral hit "You're a Jerk" taken from their 2009 debut studio album '' Skinny Jeanz and a Mic''. ...

, and

OMG Girlz OMG (initialism of "Officially Miss Guided") is an American teen pop girl group, initially known as the OMG Girlz. Their name is a play-on words, it represents being young ladies "Miss" that are "Guided" in positive ways. Formed in 2009, by Tamek ...

. Simmons is featured on the singles "Like 'Em All" by

, "Mrs. Right" by

and " Yeah Right" by

Dionne Bromfield Dionne Julia Bromfield (born 1 February 1996) is a British soul music singer, television presenter and television personality. Her debut album, '' Introducing Dionne Bromfield'', was released in 2009 by Amy Winehouse's Lioness Records label. Sh ...

. "Yeah Right" reached number 36 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in April 2011. "Click Clack Away", a song featuring

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...

, leaked onto the internet in May. Simmons noted that the track would not be included on his debut studio album, set to be released by the end of the year. That month, Simmons released the song "Just Begun" however Simmons tweeted on Twitter it was not going to be on the album. On October 24, 2011, Diggy released " Do It Like You" as the second official single from his debut album, '' Unexpected Arrival'' a music video has been released with the song's featured artist

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...

appearing in the clip. Also on February 24 the song "88" was released as the third official single. The song features Jadakiss and a viral music video was released for the track. Diggy's debut album ''Unexpected Arrival'' was released on March 20, 2012, a day before Simmons' 17th birthday. ''Billboard'' said it was "easy to find yourself nodding along". The third was his own Life of The Jetsetter Tour in late early 2012 with returning acts

, and added were Jawan Harris & new hip-hop duo TK-N-Cash. In 2012, it was announced that Simmons would once again embark on a tour with Scream Star Entertainment, and got his own headlining spot. The Scream Tour: Next Generation (Part 2) began in late August 2012 with special guests Jawan Harris,

, TK-N-Cash, YMCMB's Torion, and more.

2013–present: ''Out of This World''

Simmons announced that he was releasing his fourth mixtape titled, ''Out of This World'' via Twitter. It was set for release in 2013, but has yet to be released. On December 22, 2013, Simmons released an unofficial single after a year-long hiatus entitled "Mama Said" featuring B.o.B & Key Wane. In May 2014, Simmons released the first single from his upcoming mixtape ''Out of This World'' entitled "My Girl" featuring Trevor Jackson. The "My Girl" official video was released on May 7, 2014. On February 10, 2015, Simmons released his first single in three years, "Ain't Bout To Do" featuring French Montana. Following this, Diggy released a second single, "Can't Relate" ft Yo Gotti on April 9, 2015. Simmons appeared on Scream Nation's Back 2 School Fest that started September 11, 2015 in Florida.

Other ventures

Acting career

Simmons had a small role in the 2012 comedy '' Parental Guidance'' starring

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...

and

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

, that opened across the United States December 25, 2012. His part in the movie was cut due to "creative changes". It is unclear if Simmons' part in the movie will appear in a possible extended DVD released version. Simmons landed his own 2-hour TV movie/show pilot on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

titled ''The Start Up''. Simmons plays Blake, a 19-year-old college student and blogger who tries to get his blog of 5+ years up and running with the help of his friends.

Teyana Taylor Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert ( Taylor; born December 10, 1990) is an American singer, actress, dancer and choreographer. In 2005, she signed a record deal with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint. Afterwards, she choreographed ...

stars also. This project is set to premiere September 19, 2015. Simmons got media attention when he made an unexpected comment stating that, "love is an emotional roller coaster and I've fallen in love." during a TMZ interview about a movie he starred in called ''The Start Up''. Diggy has also a recurring role on the TV series ''

'' where he plays Doug, Jazlyn's (

Chloe Bailey Chloe Elizabeth Bailey (born July 1, 1998), also known by her mononymous stage name Chlöe, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is best known for being one half of the musical duo Chloe x Halle with her sister Halle Bailey. Tog ...

) boyfriend.

Clothing line

In 2010, Simmons launched a line of urban

sneakers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

called Chivalrous Culture. He says he gets inspiration from other artists such as Kanye and Jay Z The first shoe model is called the "Hamachi". In a recent interview with Loni Swain, he revealed "Chiv Culture" has been discontinued.

Artistry

Influences

Simmons has cited many rappers as his influences including

Jay Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one o ...

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close aff ...

. He has also expressed an interest in such bands as

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

, Passion Pit and

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...

. Simmons said, "It's a genre I would want to try in the future."

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Singles

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

*2011: YoungStars Award (Nominated) *2012: YoungStars Award (won)'' *2012: Best New Artist (Nominated)

BET Hip Hop Awards The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and w ...

*2011: Rookie of the Year (Nominated)

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

*2012: Outstanding New Artist (won)

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United ...

*2007:Choice TV:Male Reality/Variety Star (Nominated)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Diggy 1995 births Living people American hip hop musicians American fashion designers American male film actors American male voice actors African-American film producers Film producers from New York (state) African-American film directors Film directors from New York (state) African-American record producers Record producers from New York (state) 21st-century African-American people