The Fading House of Rush

STUNNED BY DRE:
Russell Simmons is one of the most respected business men in America. Over the course of almost 3 decades he's launched and built multi million dollar companies in music, fashion, internet and media. Over this same period he has also opted to cash out and move on to other things. Since the end of his days as Def Jam's leader, he has entered new business ventures and partnerships with much fan fare only to deliver more than a few duds. Take for example going back to 2005 when he got the itch to get back in the music business. Simmons called a major press conference with then Island Def Jam boss L.A. Reid, Def Jam CEO Shawn "Jay Z" Carter and Tony Austin who was named President of the new venture called Russell Simmons Music Group (RSMG). The music world watched and waited for the hits to come but the label never really got off the ground and it has since evaporated into thin air or sold to Def Jam, depending on who you ask. But the reality is, there was no value in the company, as it never had hits or made any money so that version would make no sense.

Russell Simmons like every other business man is always looking for the next big thing to invest in. His latest, an entertainment and celebrity news website called GlobalGrind.com  is doing well and growing its audience monthly. The site gets about 1 million unique visitors per month and carries major advertising for many brands in Automobiles, fashion, film and more. Globalgrind.com isn't his first run at an internet based business. His first major foray into the internet world was a website called 360hiphop.com. Simmons ran the site for what seemed like a year until he sold it to BET back in October of 2000. Simmons also published a magazine called OneWorld for a few years before shutting it down due to the fact that it was burning through more money then he or his partners could keep up with. He has launched and shuttered more businesses than we can keep up with which has put his judgement and attention span in question. Sometimes he seems to dive in with blind folds on, then hype it for a few months then everything goes silent.

Today Russell Simmons reportedly still controls the Def Jam name earning money for Universal Music Group packaging and selling music under the name. His current portfolio is not what it used to be. Russell Simmons under his Rush Communications holding company, lists a total of 8 small companies under his direction. They are Def Jam Interactive, Global Grind, Simmons Lathan Media, American Classics, Argyle Culture, Pastry, Run Athletics, Simmons Jewelry Co and UniRush Financial Services. But a little probing and clicking immediately raises questions as to whether some of these companies are still operational or worse, were they ever? Since he sold Phat Farm to Kellwood Companies a few years back Russell Simmons never left the clothing industry. He immediately turned his focus to two new clothing labels, Argyle Culture and American Classics. The Argyle Culture website was up when the company first launch but it has since been down for about a year now. The only thing you are greeted by is  the logo accompanied by a coming soon message. The American Classic's website is live but it is amateur at best and if you do decide to shop for clothing, you are directed to a Walmart.com page that is empty. Now we understand websites being down for maintenance and other reasons but for someone who has amassed a fortune estimated to be in the hundreds of millions from building businesses, this isn't a good look.

The businesses under the Rush Communications umbrella that Simmons seems to push on a daily basis is GlobalGrind.com, Rush Card which has television commercials to attract new consumers and Simmons Lathan Media which continues to produce cable television programs. Run Athletic is a sneaker company formed by Russell and his brother Joseph -aka- Run, but no website for the company exists today or at least not at the time of this article's publication. However, Pastry which is another shoe company created by  Angela and Vanessa Simmons (daughters of Run) and is a subsidiary of Run Athletics is live and kicking and seem to be the dominant shoe operation (complete with website) in the house of Rush. However no annual sales figures are public. Simmons Jewelry Co is up and running and you can actually shop for items on the company's website. This is a venture between Russell Simmons, jewelry vet Scott Rauch  and then wife Kimora Lee Simmons. Russell Simmons is either retooling his approach to some of these businesses or he has slowly and quietly backed away from them because they just didn't work, which happens in business every day, or he is simply taking a step back to spend more time on his philanthropic efforts. It has been rumored that he may even run for mayor of New York City which could also be why he is cutting back. The bottom line is that Russell Simmons needs to bring back that focus he used to build Def Jam into the most dominant hip hop label in the world. He needs to build something great again and this time not to cash out, but hold it to pass it down to his children in addition to his wealth.  Focus on building, or don't attempt to build, only to leave it unfinished.