Russell Simmons is on a Mission
Russell Simmons is the mastermind behind Def Jam Records, Phat Farm, Def Comedy Jam, and the Hip-Hop Summit Action network, which promotes empowerment in young people. His first book “Do You!: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success,” was a national bestseller. This week he stopped by the SiriusXM studios to talk with Ron Bennington about his second book, “Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All,” as well as the Occupy Movement. What follows are some brief excerpts of that interview.
Ron Bennington: Russell Simmons in studio with us. Super Rich is now available in paperback
Russell Simmons: It was the second book I wrote on the subject and the subject is consciousness. The idea of being Super Rich is a state of needing nothing. You can call it a state of Yoga, a state of Christ Consciousness, Nirvana, Taqwa for Muslims. This idea of being awake and operating from this kind of abundance that comes from this consciousness.
Ron Bennington: And what you’re saying is, everybody already has everything they need already.
Russell Simmons: We’re reminded over and over but, it’s the noise that separates us from this realization. And so there’s a chapter on meditation. I meditate twice a day and my kids meditate. The book is written based on the Yoga Sutra and other scriptures. The Yoga Sutra in particular is a how to book. So simplifying these types of practices and giving them to people really makes a difference to them. It’s also a prosperity book. Needing nothing attracts everything. People are needy and we want to get them out of being needy because neediness causes suffering. And neediness separates you from great potential. But how do you get them out of it? It’s over their head. So the first chapter is called redefining rich. Needing nothing is what we’re going for.
Ron Bennington: You’re doing some stuff with Occupy Wall Street, you’re one of the people who has shown up there…
Russell Simmons:…about thirty times…
Ron Bennington: And that brings also some heat your way, right?
Russell Simmons: Mother fuckers is very angry with me, man. I think that any tea party, republican member, any democrat, if they believe in a democracy, they have to understand the value of the work that these kids are doing. They were at Wall Street because Wall Street controls their future. If you elect an official, and you’re a republican, and you send this guy to Washington, you don’t want him to work for a healthcare company. If the reason you’re not getting healthcare is not because of smaller government, but in fact because a healthcare company pays your politician, then that’s not good. If you’ve got people in jail for drugs for twenty years, because they have to fill the prisons, and it’s because a lobbyist paid for that, then that’s a problem. Or if you go to war, and you’ve got the question whether a war machine…and there’s lobbyists convinced the President to go to war, then that’s a problem. If I get a tax break, and I pay less taxes than my secretary, and it’s because of lobbyists, then that’s a problem. This country is run by big business, special interests, and we have to stop that. We want a democracy where the people run the country, and the people run the country through their representatives, and their representatives should not be working for corporations. And that’s a constitutional amendment that we have to have. Because 9 out of 10 Americans believe this. So when these kids are in the street and they’re bringing this dialog up, and people are thinking of issues like that, then we’re doing the right thing. And those kids are doing the right thing. And I support them.
Ron Bennington: And do you think this thing is going to keep growing?
Russell Simmons: It’s going to be a revolution. In terms of– they’re not going to tear the government down, they’re going to make it better. And this constitutional amendment, you could tell it to anybody, they’ll say, ‘oh that’s a good idea but it will never get done.’ Everybody believes that it’s a good idea, but it will never get done– what kind of country does that? And the education process has to be a serious one– has to continue– on this issue specifically and on all the issues. Cause as we talk about them we come to the right side. But if we’re not educated on these issues, then we just let the corporations run everything. And you don’t get healthcare, and you get bad education, and you spend so much money building war machines you never use. You have all these imbalances because the corporations are moving the government around like bitches. Like they’re pimps, and the prostitutes are our politicians. Cause the minute you get in office, and you’re a politician, you start to ho’ it. You only got two years left, the day you walk in. So you start right away selling influence. And that can’t go on. That shit can’t fly forever.
Ron Bennington: Do you think it’s the two-party system that’s already corrupted?
Russell Simmons: I can’t focus on every thing..I got to do what I’m going to do. Right now, I’m going to get this constitutional amendment in front of people, so much so, that when it gets in front of our government, they have no choice but to do what’s right. And I think that’s what I’m getting from Occupy, I’m getting a lot of energy, and of course I’ve been supporting them as much as I can. Trying to negotiate with the city, in L.A. for example, to try to…not to be too violent; offering them quite a bit of support. The movement is run by the general councils, and the general councils have no leadership but they take votes on their direction. It’s a very organized effort by very sophisticated college kids. And other protesters who have been involved and giving them leadership In terms of how they built the infrastructure, they’ve built the most amazing little communities. With their first aid, with their kitchen with their communication departments, live streaming. Every city had great infrastructure. The ones that were torn down, they took a lot of sophisticated equipment out of those places.
Ron Bennington: Were you surprised when Bloomberg did that in the middle of the night?
Russell Simmons: No I knew that was going to go down, we all knew. But he showed some restraint for some time. The police did not show enough restraint in my opinion. Bloomberg didn’t do such a bad job compared to some other cities. I think the Mayor of L.A.– I didn’t see the stuff– just like the Mayor of New York, they blocked out the media. It should be illegal. We couldn’t see the violence that the police waged on the protesters, or vice versa. They would criticize another government but they would do it themselves. That’s another reason why I would want the people in charge of our government as opposed to corporations. Cause the heads of corporations, they’ll do what they can. They do what ever they can. I’ve been on the boards of some of the biggest corporations in the world. And they say we’ll get charity so it will endear us to the people. We’ll do this– they won’t know about it. Their job is to get paid every quarter. That’s their job. You can say ‘I’m against corporate greed’ but I want to legislate it. Fuck that, I just don’t want them to tell my government what to do. They’re gonna be greedy. They’re gonna return a profit to their investors. That’s their job.
Ron Bennington: And you brought up a great point, where even the CEOs are forced to show a profit every quarter no matter what happens.
Russell Simmons: How you getting personal when they have no compassion? They are not people. They’re greedy corporations and it’s their job to be greedy. So, I’m not faulting them. There’s ethical questions they’ve got to deal with on their own. But common practice they have to compete with, and we have to change some of the practices by legislation. And that’s what I think the people will do when they’re in charge. There’s a lot of thoughtful work that has to be done but if it’s too heavy on the part of the corporations, and their only job is to exploit the people, then the money grab continues. And there’s going to be a greater divide between the rich and the poor and the people will rise up even more. This is just a taste of what they can get unless they fix the system. We gotta watch these politicians, we gotta hold them accountable, and make them change this country for the better. And that’s going to take the people to make them do it.
Ron Bennington: And all those people who get in those positions have already proven they can play the game, why would they change it? That’s how they go there.
Russell Simmons: That’s right, why change the game.
Ron Bennington: Super Rich, is the book in paperback now. And I hope you stop back in here again next year. Cause it’s all going to get wild next year.
Russell Simmons: I support the change that matters.
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You can hear this and other interviews in their entirety exclusively on SiriusXM satellite radio. Don’t have a subscription yet? Sign up for a free trial here.
You can follow Russell Simmons on twitter @unclerush or visit his website globalgrind.com.
You can also pick up a copy of his book at amazon by clicking the link below:
