Russell Simmons took the cultural expression of an impoverished minority and innovated it as a business; by harnessing its economic power, he made it a pervasive element of contemporary life. Dozens of black artists found a national audience, in a movement that not only generated wealth, but also changed America’s understanding of itself. As Simmons once said, describing the diversity among African Americans, “the truth is that everybody doesn’t look like Bill Cosby, and we need to hear the truth, and see the truth, in order for us to know where we’re going, and what our problems are.”
(Source: pbs.org — http://to.pbs.org/1W0e0YN)