"Russell Simons threw millions at Def Poetry on Broadway and it tanked too."
Did you miss this one.
Simmons once had an Idea to combine a Marlyn Manson and L.L.Cool J.. Yes, his nephew was going to be a satan worshiping rapper. Russell dumped a ton of money into promoting this. His own partner at the time Rick Rubin decided he would part at this point and head west.
Satan Worshiping Rapper. In a highly religious black community, pardon the pun, but it went over like a fart in church.