Diggy Simmons facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Diggy Simmons
Simmons on the set of his series The Start-Up in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Daniel Dwayne Simmons III
Also known as	Diggy
Born	(1995-03-21) March 21, 1995 (age 30) Queens, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop R&B
Occupations	Rapper singer songwriter actor Partner
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Born Art Atlantic EMPIRE

Daniel Dwayne "Diggy" Simmons III, born on March 21, 1995, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He is from Queens, New York City. Diggy is the fourth child of Run-DMC's Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons.

He started his music career in 2009. The next year, he signed with Atlantic Records. In 2011, his song "Do It Like You" (featuring Jeremih) became popular. He also appeared on Mindless Behavior's song "Mrs. Right". These songs were his first and only ones to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

His first studio album, Unexpected Arrival, was released in 2012. It reached number 11 on the Billboard 200 chart. Critics liked the album. In 2011, XXL magazine chose him for their Annual Freshman List. He also joined Lupe Fiasco's rap group, All City Chess Club, as its youngest member.

In his acting career, Simmons has played Doug Edwards. This role is on the Freeform teen drama Grown-ish. This show is a spin-off of ABC's Black-ish. He has been on the show since 2018. Diggy, his parents, and his five siblings were also featured in the MTV reality TV show Run's House from 2005 to 2009.

Music Career

Starting in Music

Diggy Simmons released his first mixtape, The First Flight, in 2009. More than 100,000 people downloaded it from his blog. After this mixtape, five record labels wanted to sign him. He chose Atlantic Records.

In early 2010, Simmons posted a video of himself freestyling over the Nas song, "Made You Look". The video became very popular online. Kanye West praised it on Twitter, saying he knew Diggy would be "fresh."

Before that, a song called "Oh Yeah!" was leaked. It featured Pharrell Williams and Lupe Fiasco. Airborne, Diggy's second mixtape, came out in 2010. A song from this mixtape, "Great Expectations," was used in a national AT&T TV commercial that year.

Simmons released his third mixtape, Past, Present(s), Future, in December 2011. DJ Premier hosted this mixtape. It included samples from 1980s and 1990s songs. Artists like Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, and Rakim were sampled. A music video was made for the song "Shook Ones". This song samples the Mobb Deep song with the same name.

Big Steps in Music (2011–2012)

Diggy performing in May 2012

In early 2011, Billboard named Simmons one of their "Artists to Watch." He was also chosen for XXL magazine's annual Freshmen list. Diggy joined a group of new music artists called "B(before 20)12."

Diggy went on his first tour in the summer of 2011. It was BET's 106 & Park Closer to My Dreams Tour. Other artists on the tour included Tyga, Mac Miller, and Mindless Behavior. He then released his first major song, "Copy, Paste". This song reached number 24 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in September. The video for "Copy, Paste" was directed by Phil the God. Diggy performed the song at the 2011 BET Awards pre-show.

His second tour was the Scream Tour's Next Generation Tour in the fall of 2011. He toured with Mindless Behavior, Jacob Latimore, and New Boyz. Simmons was featured on several songs by other artists. These included "Like 'Em All" by Jacob Latimore and "Mrs. Right" by Mindless Behavior. He was also on "Yeah Right" by Dionne Bromfield. "Yeah Right" reached number 36 on the UK Singles Chart in April 2011.

A song called "Click Clack Away," featuring Bruno Mars, was leaked online in May. Simmons said this song would not be on his first album. That month, he released "Just Begun," but he later tweeted it would not be on the album either. On October 24, 2011, Diggy released "Do It Like You". This was the second official song from his first album, Unexpected Arrival. A music video was released with Jeremih, who was featured on the song.

On February 24, 2012, the song "88" was released as the third official song. It featured Jadakiss, and a music video was also released. Diggy's first album, Unexpected Arrival, came out on March 20, 2012. This was one day before his 17th birthday. Billboard magazine said it was "easy to find yourself nodding along."

His third tour was his own Life of The Jetsetter Tour in early 2012. He toured again with Jacob Latimore and the OMG Girlz. In 2012, it was announced that Simmons would headline the Scream Tour: Next Generation (Part 2). This tour started in late August 2012.

Music from 2013 to Today

Simmons announced on Twitter that he was releasing his fourth mixtape, Out of This World. It was planned for 2013 but has not been released yet. On December 22, 2013, Simmons released an unofficial song called "Mama Said." It featured B.o.B and Key Wane. This was after a year-long break from music.

In May 2014, Simmons released the first song from his upcoming mixtape. It was called "My Girl" and featured Trevor Jackson. The official video for "My Girl" came out on May 7, 2014.

On February 10, 2015, Simmons released his first song in three years. It was "Ain't Bout To Do" and featured French Montana. After this, Diggy released another song, "Can't Relate," featuring Yo Gotti, on April 9, 2015. Simmons also performed at Scream Nation's Back 2 School Fest. This event started on September 11, 2015, in Florida.

Other Activities

Acting Career

Simmons had a small part in the 2012 comedy movie Parental Guidance. The movie starred Billy Crystal and Bette Midler. It opened in the United States on December 25, 2012. His part in the movie was cut out due to "creative changes." It is not known if his part will be in a possible extended DVD version.

Simmons also got his own two-hour TV film pilot on BET. It was called The Start Up and also starred Teyana Taylor. Simmons played Blake, a 19-year-old college student and blogger. Blake tries to make his blog popular with the help of his friends. The film premiered on September 19, 2015.

Since 2018, Simmons has had a regular role on the TV series Grown-ish. He plays Doug, who is Jazlyn's (Chloe Bailey's) boyfriend.

Clothing Line

In 2010, Simmons started his own line of urban sneakers. It was called Chivalrous Culture. He said he got ideas from other artists like Kanye and Jay Z. The first shoe model was called the "Hamachi." In a 2011 interview, he said that "Chiv Culture" had been stopped.

Artistry

Influences

Simmons has said that many rappers have influenced his music. These include Jay Z, Nas, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, A Tribe Called Quest, and Wu-Tang Clan. He has also shown interest in bands like Maroon 5, Passion Pit, and Arctic Monkeys. Simmons mentioned that he would like to try that type of music in the future.

Discography

Studio Albums

Mixtapes

Singles

As Featured Artist

See also

• Run's House

Awards and Nominations

BET Awards

• 2011: YoungStars Award (Nominated)
• 2012: YoungStars Award (won)
• 2012: Best New Artist (Nominated)

BET Hip Hop Awards

• 2011: Rookie of the Year (Nominated)

NAACP Image Awards

• 2012: Outstanding New Artist (won)

Teen Choice Awards

• 2007:Choice TV:Male Reality/Variety Star (Nominated)