You gotta check out today’s interview with Russell Simmons. Props to producer Roy Hurst for taking 40 minutes of raw tape and cutting out most of the cursing and shouting. but leaving in just enough to give you a sense of how things went in the studio.

Russell Simmons is a hard man to book for an interview, aOlernKienOP
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You just know some interviews are going to require a bit of energy, and there was adrenaline pumping for me (and I think other members of the staff) well before Simmons was seated in studio.

After all, this is the man who so put out the staff of WGN TV in Chicago that they ran a blog post called "Russell Simmons: Get Over Yourself"

It read in part:

What we didn’t get to in the interview is that SImmons is a proponent of Yoga. Page 71, he writes, "Meditation can help bring you back aOlernKienOP
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Maybe all that sitting in silence caused his inner Ying or Yang to explode.

Anyhow, given that context, just listen to what we got out of him.

Apparently, talking about misogyny is a no no. Good thing we’re doing a special roundtable on gender and hip hop next week!

It’s aOlernKienOP
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Anyhow, for me, this ranks as one of my all time favorite interviews. Not favorite the way you might say "chocolate is my favorite sweet," but more like, "this will go down in the annals of my interviewing history."

Hey, it didn’t blow all the way up like Gene Simmons on Terry Gross’ Fresh Air. I’m relieved.

Oh, by the way, if you want to get a good decoder ring for some of the buddhist philosophy Russell and I were talking about, check out this great book on Buddhism and African Americans, Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living with Fearlessness and Grace by Angel Kyodo Williams. Really, anyone aOlernKienOP
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Can’t wait to hear what y’all think of the interview! And is Russell, as he says, a servant of hip hop?

Ms. Chideya:

I am greatly disappointed in how you conducted yourself during your aOlernKienOP
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It’s not right that Mr. Simmons has to defend his influence in hip hop every time he interviews with an African American interviewer. I believe he’s often attacked by African American female interviewers because they are jealous that he chose an Asian queen instead of an aOlernKienOP
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I believe hip hop has aOlernKienOP
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Sent by Treniece Bridges from Jacksonville, Florida 9:01 PM 6 4 2007

I have to say that I thought Russell Simmons had much more of a point than Ms. Chideya had when it came to talking about his book compared to debating the appropriateness of hip hop diction.

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I hope you think twice about this and make a plan to move away from this tactic in future interviews. It’s annoying and embarrassing to listen to.

Sent by Janet 9:29 PM 6 4 2007

The man is awesome! He is what he is, on one hand he is giving back, so what if he isn’t polished and aOlernKienOP
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Sent by Nik 9:48 aOlernKienOP
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I’m from NY, not to far from where Russell Run DMC are from. I don’t like Simmons! I think he’s a sell out! He talks so highly of Hip Hop Rappers of today. I think most of aOlernKienOP
Online Mens Air Jordan 4 Cavs todays rap/hip hop, not all, is poison filthy! Why must all the foul langauge name calling be in the songs. We all know about the fight to clean up the lyric’s. Russell is fighting to let Rappers say whats on their minds. Freedom of speach he says. Russell is all for his pockets! Russell Ben Chivez[ hope I got his name right]are both full of ^+. I’ll give Russell props as a aOlernKienOP
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Sent by Brian Williams 11:12 PM 6 4 2007

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