Russell Simmons: Rap Money
on Monday, July 18, 2022Russell Simmons Money Quote saying that homophones can be fun and money is funny when it comes to civil rights. Russell Simmons said:
“[Rap] is the last step of the civil rights movement: You know, wrap your hands around some money, right?” — Russell Simmons
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In this quote, Russell Simmons is characterizing hip hop/rap music as the final stage of the American civil rights movement. When he says it’s “the last step” and references “wrap[ping] your hands around some money,” Simmons appears to be arguing that rap empowered Black communities economically in addition to socially/politically.
His view seems to be that hip hop provided a means for Black Americans to financially capitalize and gain wealth/prosperity through their cultural creations, in a way continuing the goals of the civil rights struggle for equal rights and opportunities.
Overall, the quote conveys Simmons’ perspective that rap/hip hop represented the culminating phase of advancing Black rights by enabling economic participation and access to the financial benefits of creative works according to this interpretation.