Joseph Simmons, better known as Reverend Run, is a rapper and disc jockey best known as part of the legendary and influential hip-hop group Run-DMC on the East Coast. Hip-hop students who haven’t listened to her work but want to understand the early beginnings of the genre do both, themselves and those to whom they may want to share information about huge dishonesty. Join us as we take a look at how Simmons himself began his journey.
Joseph Simmons Biography
Simmons was born as Joseph Ward Simmons, the youngest of three boys of Evelyn and Daniel Simmons, on November 14, 1964, in Queens Borough, New York. From a very young age, Simmons was influenced by the growing hip-hop music genre in New York, which also influenced his older brothers Danny and Russell in one way or another.
Around the age of 14, Simmons began working as a disc jockey for one of the early hip hop pioneers, Kurtis Blow, which was managed by his brother Russell. His skills on the turntable earned him the nickname DJ Run, as he was known for cutting between two turntables. Simmons soon began hiring Blow-in rap battles before forming the hip-hop group The Force. The Force didn’t exist for long because Joseph Simmons teamed up with his high school friend Darryl McDaniels (aka DMC) to form the group Run-DMC. Later, the duo was joined by another high school friend, Jason William Mizell (aka Jam Master Jay).
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Run-DMC then signed a record deal with Profile Records and released their first single, “It’s like that/Sucker MCs”, in 1983. The success of the song drove the group to release their self-titled debut album a year later, which included hits like “Rock Box”, “Hard Times” and “Jam Master Jay”. In 1985 Simmons and his crew released King of Rock to critical acclaim. A year later, they released Raising Hell, an album produced by Rick Rubin, and sold platinum, cementing their legacy as Kickstarter of the golden age of hip-hop by being one of the first artists in the genre to receive a Grammy Award nomination.
The group subsequently released four more albums: Tougher than Leather (1988), Back From Hell (1990), Down with the King (1993), and Crown Royal (2001), before Jam Master Jay was killed in his New York studio in 2002. His death hit Simmons hard, and he decided to leave the music as he was ordained a Pentecostal minister under the name Reverend Run. In 2005, however, Simmons returned to the music scene and released his first and only solo album, Distortion. During this time he also began appearing on the reality show Run’s House, which featured him and his family.
Family – Wife, Children
Joseph Simmons is currently married in a second marriage. The practicing pastor was first married to Valerie Vaughn in 1983. The couple had three children, Vanessa, Angela, and Joseph Jr. aka Jojo, before their marriage ended in 1992. Mrs. Vaughn filed for divorce from her husband after he admitted to cheating on her with a 22-year-old woman from Cleveland, Ohio, who accused him of raping her in 1989 after a show. Simmons had asserted his innocence in this matter but later admitted to having slept with the woman in question consensually. He was later acquitted of any wrongdoing and the case was dismissed for lack of evidence, but this cost him his marriage.
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Two years after the end of his first marriage, on June 25, 1994, Simmons exchanged vows with Justin Jones. Together the couple welcomed three more children: Daniel III aka Diggy, Russell II aka Russy, and Victoria Anne, who died shortly after birth. The loss prompted the couple to adopt a little girl named Miley Justine Simmons.
Net Worth
According to the Celebrity Net Worth website, Joseph Simmons has an estimated net worth of $70 million. A former member of the Run-DMC group, Simmons has amassed such vast fortunes through his groundbreaking hip-hop music career and other business ventures. He also served as president of the athletics and footwear division of Phat Farm, a clothing company owned by his brother, during his most successful years.