New message at hip-hop summit
From Brian Todd
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Russell Simmons didn't have to look back. He fought his way out of inner-city Queens to become the "godfather" of the hip-hop movement, creator of Def Jam Records, Def Comedy Jam, and the Phat Farm clothing line -- a showbiz star by any measure.
But outside Baltimore, he's the headliner in a townhall meeting with energy.
This is Simmons' passion now -- a series of Hip-Hop Summits. This year, the summit is aimed at getting inner-city kids, who spend so much on his products, to become more financially responsible.
"Well, it's the last step of the civil rights movement: You know, wrap your hands around some money, right?" Simmons says.
But it goes beyond that. Simmons lures kids in by recruiting young hip-hop stars like Mike Jones to appear, then holds workshops teaching financial literacy -- how to get your credit ratings up, get out of poverty and stay out.
"The mindset of poverty is something that has to be overcome. I don't believe that those people who are living in this struggle -- I'm not saying what Bill Cosby is saying, for instance. I'm saying that it's our job to continue to give back," Simmons says.
The subject of Bill Cosby is still sensitive to Simmons and his allies.
Cosby angered some in the African-American community last year by slamming the hip-hop culture, targeting the lyrics of hip-hop music.
"The more you invest in that child, the more you're not going to let some CD tell your child how to curse and how to say the word n----- is an accepted word -- so hip to use n----- but you can't even spell it," Cosby said last July.
Not long after, Simmons shot back at Cosby, saying, "Judgment of people in the situation is not helpful. How you can help them is the question."
Now, Simmons says there's no divide between Cosby's philosophy and his. "What I'm saying is that it's our job to keep giving," Simmons says.
But Simmons' brother, Reverend Run of Run DMC, compares himself to Cosby this way:
"My job, I believe, is to tell people, 'I went this way, come in,' so I don't really scream at people for not havin' it together."
Contacted by CNN, Cosby said, "The summit, which is set up to educate people about managing their money and protecting their income, leads to empowerment of self, for which this summit needs to be applauded."
Another generation might agree.
