Hip-hop mogul Simmons adds kicks to his mix

It's not every day Russell Simmons is waving his sneaker under your nose.

Last week, Simmons and his brother Reverend Run (Joseph Simmons) of Run-DMC were in town to promote a line of shoes, just the latest from the rap mogul/entrepreneur who seems to start a new venture every other week.

In the VIP room of a very crowded Mr. Lucky lounge on Queen Anne, I made the mistake of remarking that the new Phat Farm Select sneakers didn't seem that different from other shoes on the market.

Simmons immediately took off one of his own shoes and stuck it right in my face.

"These are not so normal!" he insisted. "You think they're normal? We sold a lot of these sneakers! We must have sold 2 million pairs of these, right here!" Holding it under my nose, he proceeded to tick off the assets of the $80 sneaker.

OK, OK, we believe him.

Simmons is the hip-hop mogul who co-founded Def Jam Records in 1984 and introduced the world to the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and LL Cool J. Often called The Godfather of Hip-Hop, Simmons brought hip-hop to the masses. And now he's bringing clothes, shoes, TV shows and more.

ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES Joseph Simmons, aka Reverend Run of Run-DMC fame, works the mike at Mr. Lucky. He was here to help brother Russell promote a shoe line.

More than 500 fans packed Mr. Lucky, which was plastered with discreet Phat Farm and Baby Phat logos, and featured two elegant ice sculptures — sneakers frozen right into them.

When Simmons and Run arrived, they were escorted by security guards and throngs of hangers-on. Run, in his usual reverend outfit, went straight to the DJ, picked up a microphone and started addressing the crowd.

Simmons, in dark-blue baggy pants, matching pullover, white sneakers and a baseball hat, made his way to the bar, shaking dozens of hands on the way and ordered a bottle of water.

Later, in the club's VIP Room, Simmons took a breather with me, while Run kept rapping outside.

"Seattle is a special audience with special needs and cultural things that happen here," Simmons said. "It's cool to be here and learn. It's an alternative market. They have new ideas here, interesting people, a cool kind of diversity. If I only visit the top 10 cities, I'm not seeing America."

Simmons began to reel off the ventures he and his reality-TV-friendly wife, Kimora Lee, are overseeing: the clothing line Phat Farm, which spun off a women's collection overseen by Lee, Baby Phat; the high-tech sneakers; his new yoga career; and music coming from the newly formed Russell Simmons Music Group (RSMG). After that we lost track.

Among the highlights:

• One of the first records, due later this summer, from RSMG is by Run, and it's a decided departure: a loud rock 'n' roll, spiritual album.

"I'll say it to you, and it sounds a little crazy: He (Run) says it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, who wrote the record," Simmons says. "He laid this whole album in 10 days. It's a very religious record, but it's very loud. Nothing on the radio sounds anything near like it."

• The MTV reality show "Run's House," which is replacing "The Osbournes" in October. The show, produced by Simmons and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, focuses on Run's family, which he says will surprise people.

"It's a family of overachievers," says Simmons of his nieces and nephews. "None of these kids are in rehab. All these kids are A-students. One of them is Miss New York state, one is in high school in a fashion institute, two are rappers and one says he wants to be a director. They're really religious kids and go to church I don't know how many times a week. It's like 'Father Knows Best' on steroids," he says with a laugh.

• Yoga. Yes, the calming, centering kind. Simmons has been religiously practicing for 10 years. Simmons just produced "Yoga Live," a series of videos (available at www.getyogalive.com) featuring hip-hop music and geared to teach not only the physical workout, which is only one of the steps of yoga, but also the spiritual aspects as well.

"If only yogis were the only people in America who could vote," Simmons said. "this country would be so compassionate and so giving and so loving. It would transform the world.

"Yoga is 5,000 years old and already has millions of Americans doing it, but if I press the right buttons ... if I make it in a way that they can digest it, then the world will change."

• Food and drink. A Simmons food and beverage company is in the works and will feature all vegan foods. An energy soda, DEFCON3, is already available.

Simmons has been a vegan for seven years, although he wears and sells leather. "You do the best you can," he says apologetically.

• Financial planning. Simmons owns UniRush Financial Services, which features the Rushcard, a prepaid Visa card for the un-banked and already has around half a million cardholders.

The company also teamed up with Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, to create a Web site allowing young Americans to easily file their claims online and receive their refunds within 10 days.

"I want to help to develop lots of tools," Simmons says. His goal is to help young people develop "financial literacy among many people who need the most and get the least."

Simmons finds it's not hard to keep his priorities straight, however.

"I want to be a good dad," says the father of two girls. "And I want to be a philanthropist. I hope I can move the country and the world to be a better place."

Kriss Chaumont: kchaumont@seattletimes.com