Russell Simmons Wants To Bring His Hip-Hop Musical 'The Scenario' To A Stage Near You
Hip-hop mogul Russel Simmons has penned a public letter to Donald Trump, asking the presidential candidate to "stop fueling the fires of hate." Simmons directly refers to Trump's inflammatory and bigoted call to ban entry into the United States for all muslims--a fearmongering political pose that has politicians and pundits on both sides of the aisle condemning the billionaire. "My friends, both Muslims and Jews, are saying there are so many comparisons between your rap and Hitler’s, and I cannot disagree with them," Simmons wrote in his letter, which was published on Global Grind Wednesday morning.
Simmons goes on to plead with Trump to scale back his abusive rhetoric:
Stop the bullshit. Stop fueling fires of hate. Don’t feed into the rhetoric created by small-minded people. You’re smarter and certainly more loving then you let on. The Republicans in power don’t like you any more than the Democrats in power, as they know you can’t be controlled, because you are your own man. You have been many people’s champ in the past, but now you are becoming a major embarrassment. I know the cheap seats are easy to play to, but you can get them just by being the man I have known for nearly 30 years.I’ll pray that this truth will ring a bell and it will not only temper your rap, but remind you of the man you used to be. You are trying to be president of a country built on religious freedom; remember that the next time you discuss the beautiful followers of Islam. I would also like to remind you of one of my favorite quotes from the Holy Quran, “Love all men of good books equally.” The minute you target one group or one religion or immigrants, you have failed.
I wish you good luck on your path towards the White House, but as I’m sure you know, our belief systems are polar opposites on many of the issues. And I will be campaigning rigorously against you. But if you win, I might still accept an invitation to your house to straighten you up every so often.
Elsewhere in the piece, Simmons writes of the personal heartache he's felt, watching Trump, his personal friend, become so aggressively xenophobic. "You are a generous, kind man who has built a career on negotiating deals where everybody wins," the letter reads. "Now, you seem like a one-man wrecking ball willing to destroy our nation’s foundation of freedom. Read the full letter over at Global Grind.
