Inspirational Leaders

There are many entrepreneurs whom I admire, including Russell Simmons, named “Top 25 Most Influential People of the Past 20 Years,” by USA Today.

In 1984, Simmons launched "Def Jam Recordings" creating a cultural revolution with hip-hop.

Russell "Rush" Simmons has a familiar story of growing up in a middle class neighborhood, spending many years as a street hustler in Queens, New York.

Deciding to take a different turn in his life, he enrolled at CCNY-Harlem, and began using his spare time to promote early hip-hop block parties and club shows around Harlem and Queens.

In his book: "Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money, and God" he talks candidly about being a promoter in the mid-1970's, his groundbreaking work with Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, and his wild partying in the Caribbean with celebs like Naomi Campbell and Robert De Niro.

He described his life as full "of decisions and danger with deep moral and emotional consequences."

Russell Simmons has truly brought hip-hop culture to the mainstream with successful ventures such as: Phat Farm, Argyle Culture, Atman clothing, and HBO's Def Comedy Jam and Def Poetry Jam.

I admire his business and entrepreneurial mindset by continuously branching out and finding other sources of revenue to generate a true empire. Even though his highly promoted

web venture "360 Degrees Hip Hop.com" failed, it didn't stop him from moving forward.

His former wife, Kimora Lee Simmons, has also been an inspiration to me due to her success, vision, and never giving up. Having a black father, and Japanese/Korean mother, Kimora has faced her own identity issues of being 100% American, yet of a mixed racial heritage, which I can not only relate to and identify with, but like her, struggled though the insecure years of adolescence.

Kimora described her being called her "chinky giraffe"because of her height and Asian ancestry, since she was 5'8 by the time she was ten years old. With no Asian population in her community, she had difficulty fitting in with the mostly black student body who shunned her because of her Asian ancestry. After her mother enrolled her into a modeling class, she was scouted, and quickly found success due to her height and unique looks. At the age of thirteen, Kimora was offered a contract with Chanel.

I remember seeing Kimora in the mid 1990's, while I was entering into my teenage years as a kid model. The modeling agency I signed with as a child stopped sending me jobs due to my height; race was always a factor with booking modeling jobs, which as a child, made me greatly aware of my "ethnic looks" yet I was frustrated with being viewed as "different" since I was just as American as anyone else.

Kimora's persona is over the top, cutting edge, and at times outrageous; yet her ability to overcome and achieve success through branding her image is inspiring.

Currently, her reality TV show airs on E! TV and the Style network. Russell Simmons can be seen on MTV's "Run's House" staring his brother, "Rev.Run" and their family.