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Russell Simmons
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Hire Russell Simmons for Your Event
We Help You Hire Russell Simmons
Celebrity Direct Inc. will help you select, hire and book a speaking engagement by Russell Simmons at your corporate event, nonprofit event or private performance.
We are always uniquely positioned as your advocate throughout the hiring process and we won’t let you overpay.
Contact us for availability, price and other production details at:
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Russell Simmons Bio
Russell Simmons is the most important businessman in the history of rap music. As co-founder of the Def Jam label, Simmons’ street-friendly taste and marketing savvy helped bring hip-hop crashing into the mainstream of American culture and mass media. He’s often been compared to Motown impresario Berry Gordy, but there’s one important difference: Where Gordy strove to make assimilationist R&B that would be considered respectable by pop audiences, Simmons ensured that his artists remained as uncompromisingly rebellious as possible. That attitude made hip-hop a music of choice for a generation of teenagers simply by staying true to its roots; it was a multi-cultural phenomenon that succeeded — more or less — on its own terms. Simmons was the entrepreneur who shepherded rap music into big business, gradually building his own communications company into the largest black-owned enterprise in the industry. By the time he sold Def Jam for 100 million dollars in 1999, he was one of the most respected figures in the rap business, and continued to take an active interest in shaping the culture’s future direction.
Russell “Rush” Simmons grew up in the Hollis area of Queens, NY, and spent some of his teen years as a street hustler. He later enrolled at CCNY-Harlem to study sociology, and in 1978, he began using his spare time to promote early hip-hop block parties and club shows around Harlem and Queens, often in tandem with his friend Curtis Walker. A rapper in his own right, Walker adopted the name Kurtis Blow, and Simmons became his manager, also co-writing his 1979 single “Christmas Rappin’.” By this time, he’d quit school to pursue artist management full-time, forming his own Rush Productions company. In 1982, he took on his younger brother Joseph’s group as clients, christening them Run-D.M.C. and helping to guide their meteoric rise to stardom over the next few years. In the meantime, Simmons met a producer and punk rock fan named Rick Rubin, who shared his taste for raw, aggressive, street-level hip-hop. Putting up a few thousand dollars apiece, Simmons and Rubin founded the Def Jam record label in 1984, and secured a distribution deal with CBS after some early success with LL Cool J (who recorded Def Jam’s first-ever single, “I Need a Beat”).
Over the next few years, Def Jam grew into one of the most popular and creatively vital labels in hip-hop history. In addition to LL Cool J, the label also released acclaimed and influential recordings by Slick Rick, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys, EPMD, 3rd Bass, Onyx, and many others. Simmons had already turned the story of Def Jam’s founding into the fictionalized film Krush Groove (1985), which starred Blair Underwood as Simmons and also featured Rubin and Run-D.M.C. as themselves. Critically panned as a plotless vehicle for musical performances, the film was nonetheless a smash hit with hip-hop fans (for pretty much the same reason).
Simmons continued to branch out into other business ventures: In 1992, he launched Phat Farm, a successful men’s clothing line; it later spawned a female companion, Baby Phat, which was overseen by one time supermodel Kimora Lee (who eventually married Simmons in 1999). He returned to films in 1995 with the hip-hop documentary The Show, and the following year produced Eddie Murphy’s comeback hit The Nutty Professor. 1996 also saw the launch of a hip-hop lifestyle magazine, One World, which spun off a syndicated TV show hosted by Lee.
In 1999, Simmons sold the remainder of his 40 percent share of Def Jam to Universal Music Group for a reported 100 million dollars, staying on as a nominal chairman. In the intervening years, he’s kept up his other business ventures, and returned to HBO in 2001 with the spoken-word show Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam, hosted by Mos Def. He’s also devoted ample attention to the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, among other philanthropic concerns. The Action Network was a nonprofit outgrowth of a 2001 meeting among label heads, artists, and other key figures to discuss responsible directions in image and marketing for hip-hop to take in the new millennium.
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How do I hire Russell Simmons for a private event, corporate event, nonprofit gala or convention?
To hire Russell Simmons for a private or corporate performance, the event buyer must first determine whether the artist is available and interested in the proposed engagement and then submit an offer through the appropriate authorized representative. The offer typically includes the event date and location, type of event, proposed performance format and fee.
Celebrity Direct represents event buyers throughout this process, including availability inquiries, offer strategy, negotiation, contracting, rider review and production coordination.
How much does it cost to hire Russell Simmons for a private or corporate event?
There is no single published fee to hire Russell Simmons for a private or corporate event. The performance fee is negotiated for the specific engagement and can vary based on the date, location, event type, performance format, travel requirements, current touring activity and other circumstances surrounding the event.
Celebrity Direct can obtain current availability and pricing from the appropriate artist representative for a specific event.
What total budget should I expect when hiring Russell Simmons?
The total cost of presenting Russell Simmons can be higher than the negotiated artist performance fee. Depending on the engagement, additional expenses can include airfare or private aviation, hotels, local transportation, sound, lighting, staging, backline, labor, hospitality and other requirements contained in the artist’s rider.
For this reason, event buyers should evaluate the all-in cost of the performance, not simply the artist fee, before making an offer.
How can I find out if Russell Simmons is available for my event date?
Russell Simmons’ availability for a private or corporate event must be confirmed through the appropriate authorized representative. Availability can depend on touring and recording commitments, personal scheduling, event location, travel requirements and whether the artist is interested in the particular engagement.
Celebrity Direct can submit the event details, check availability and determine whether an offer is appropriate.
How do I contact Russell Simmons’ booking agent about a private performance?
A corporate, nonprofit or private-event buyer generally does not need to locate Russell Simmons’ booking agent personally. An experienced talent buyer can identify the appropriate authorized representative, present the event professionally and manage the inquiry and offer process on the buyer’s behalf.
Celebrity Direct handles this process for its clients and represents the event buyer rather than the artist.
How do I contact Russell Simmons’ manager about hiring them for an event?
Artist management is not necessarily the appropriate first contact for negotiating a private performance. Celebrity engagements are generally handled through the artist’s authorized booking representation, management or another designated representative depending on the circumstances.
Celebrity Direct determines the appropriate contact for the proposed engagement and handles the communication and negotiation for the event buyer.
Will Russell Simmons perform at a corporate event, convention, nonprofit gala or private party?
Whether Russell Simmons will consider a particular private or corporate performance depends on their availability, the nature and location of the event, the proposed performance, the financial offer and artist approval. Celebrity artists are not simply available for every event at a published price.
A legitimate inquiry should therefore include enough information about the event for the artist’s representatives to evaluate the opportunity.
What information do I need before asking about hiring Russell Simmons?
Before requesting availability or pricing for Russell Simmons, an event buyer should ideally know the event date, city and venue, type of event, expected attendance, desired performance format and approximate entertainment budget.
Providing these details allows the artist’s representatives to evaluate the engagement and allows an experienced talent buyer to recommend the most effective offer strategy.
Does the quoted artist fee include travel and production?
Usually, the artist’s performance fee should not be assumed to represent the complete cost of the engagement. Travel, hotels, ground transportation, production, equipment, labor and hospitality requirements may be additional obligations of the buyer depending on the negotiated contract and rider.
The contract and rider should be reviewed before the event buyer determines the final entertainment budget.
Can Celebrity Direct handle the complete Russell Simmons booking and production process?
Celebrity Direct can represent the event buyer throughout a celebrity entertainment engagement, including determining availability, developing the offer, negotiating with the artist’s authorized representative, reviewing contracts and riders, coordinating production requirements and assisting with the performance through event day.
Unlike an artist’s agent or manager, Celebrity Direct works on the buyer’s side of the transaction, helping the event planner understand the financial, contractual and production obligations involved in presenting celebrity talent.
The Celebrity Booking Process
How Do I Hire a Celebrity for a Corporate or Private Event?
Submit a request
Submit our website form. We’ll ask you to provide a few key event details and budget goals
Consultation call
We’ll schedule a call to discuss your event goals, offering our expert guidance on expectations
Talent Curation
We Identify a shortlist of available talent, factoring in tour schedules, to ensure accurate recommendations
Narrow it Down
We’ll help you rank and narrow down your top 3 priority picks
The Firm Offer
We craft a formal offer and present it to the Artist
Contract + Deposit
If the offer is accepted, we issue your agreement. If declined, we move to your next preferred choice.
Why Work With Us
Not Just a Booking. A Full-Scale Production.
Booking a celebrity is only part of the equation. We build the entire experience around it.
We handle:
- Artist negotiation and contracting
- All production: staging, lighting, sound, technical riders
- Event logistics and show advancement
- VIP coordinators, security, and confidentiality
You get:
- A seasoned producer and booking advisor in one
- A direct line to the decision-makers behind the artist
- A one-stop solution from inquiry to showtime
- Peace of mind knowing every detail is managed