Joseph Simmons
| Joseph Simmons | |
|---|---|
Simmons at the 2007 Brooklyn Book Festival.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Ward Simmons |
| Born |
November 14, 1964 Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Origin | Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop, East Coast hip hop, rap rock |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, producer, D.J., reverend |
| Years active | 1981-present |
| Associated acts | Run–D.M.C., Kid Rock, Sean Combs, Jumpshot, Russell Simmons, Aerosmith, Diggy Simmons, DJ Ruckus |
Joseph Ward Simmons (born November 14, 1964), known by the stage name Run, Rev. Run or DJ Run, is one of the founding members of the influential hip hop group Run–D.M.C. He is also a practicing minister, known as Reverend Run.
He found new popularity in 2005 with his family's MTV reality show Run's House.
Simmons was born November 14, 1964 in Hollis, Queens, New York. He is the younger brother of artist Danny Simmons and Russell Simmons, the co-founder of Def Jam Records.
Before Run–D.M.C., Simmons was the lead vocalist in the hip-hop group called "The Force." He founded Run-D.M.C. as a lead vocalist along with friend Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels and the late DJ Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell.
Run began using the stage name of "Rev. Run" after he was ordained as a Pentecostal minister by E. Bernard Jordan, Simmons's spiritual mentor. Jordan also named him "Protege of the Year Award" in 2004. The same day, symbolic of his "Prosperity Ministry", there was a "Rolls Royce parade outside the Plaza Hotel in New York City, "featuring Jordan's Phantom Rolls Royce. The new $325,000 Phantom had been a gift from Reverend Run as a "thank you" for Jordan's mentoring support.
His first work as Rev. Run was a feature in the single "Song 4 Lovers" by UK pop band Liberty X in September 2005. The music video for that song was directed by Bill Schacht for Aestheticom and reached broadcast airplay chart positions of No. 2 Box UK and No. 4 MTV UK with heavy rotation on 5 other music channels in the UK.
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