Joseph Simmons facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joseph Simmons
Simmons in 2000
Background information
Birth name	Joseph Ward Simmons
Also known as	Run Rev. Run DJ Run
Born	(1964-11-14) November 14, 1964 (age 60) Queens, New York City, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop East Coast hip hop rap rock old school hip hop golden age hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper songwriter record producer disc jockey actor television personality reverend

Joseph Ward Simmons (born November 14, 1964) is an American rapper, producer, and TV star. He is best known as Rev. Run or Run. He was a founding member of the super famous hip hop group Run–D.M.C.. Rev. Run is also a Christian minister.

In 2005, he became even more popular. This happened because of his family's MTV reality show, Run's House.

Early Life and Family

Joseph Simmons was born on November 14, 1964. His hometown is Hollis, Queens, a part of New York City. He has two older brothers. One is an artist named Danny Simmons. The other is Russell Simmons, who helped start Def Jam Recordings. Def Jam is a very important record company in hip hop.

Music Career Highlights

Before he became famous with Run–D.M.C., Joseph Simmons was the lead singer. He sang in a hip-hop group called "The Force."

Starting Run–D.M.C.

Joseph Simmons started the group Run–D.M.C. He was the lead singer. He formed the group with his friend Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels. They also had their DJ, Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell. This group became one of the most important in hip hop history.

Becoming Reverend Run

Joseph Simmons started using the name "Rev. Run" after he became a Pentecostal minister. He was ordained by E. Bernard Jordan, who was his spiritual teacher.

In September 2005, Rev. Run was featured in a song. It was called "Song 4 Lovers" by the UK pop band Liberty X. The music video for this song was very popular in the UK.

Solo Album and Video Games

After that, he released his first solo album. It was called Distortion. The first song from the album was "Mind on the Road." This song was featured in the EA Sports video game Madden NFL 06. "Mind on the Road" used parts of the song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll." This was like how Run–D.M.C. used parts of other songs. For example, they used Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" in one of their hits.

In 2002, Rev. Run was on a special "Rap Stars" episode. It was for the game show The Weakest Link.

Television Shows and Projects

Rev. Run became very well known for his MTV series Run's House. This was a reality show about his daily life with his family. The show ran from 2005 to 2009.

In 2007, he appeared on My Super Sweet 16 with his son Diggy Simmons. They were at a 16th birthday party for Diddy's son, Quincy. Diddy was also a producer for Run's House.

In 2008, Simmons and his wife Justine worked with Kool-Aid. They teamed up with a group called KaBOOM! to build playgrounds. These playgrounds were for communities that needed them. They helped build many playgrounds to create safe places for kids to play.

In August 2008, Simmons released a book. It was called Take Back Your Family: A Challenge to America's Parents. He wrote it with his wife, Justine Simmons, and Chris Morrow.

Rev. Run has also created other TV shows. In 2014, two new shows started. Rev Run's Renovation was on the DIY Network and HGTV. Rev Run's Sunday Suppers was on the Cooking Channel. In 2016, Rev Runs Around the World premiered on the Travel Channel.

Personal Life

Joseph Simmons married Valerie Vaughn in 1983. They had three children together: Vanessa Simmons, Angela Simmons, and Joseph "JoJo" Ward Simmons, Jr..

He married Justine Jones on June 25, 1994. They had three more children: Daniel "Diggy" Simmons III, Russell "Russy" Simmons II, and Victoria Anne Simmons. Sadly, Victoria passed away shortly after being born in September 2006. The family later adopted a baby girl named Miley Justine Simmons.

The Simmons family lives in Saddle River, New Jersey. In 2017, Simmons shared that he was becoming a vegetarian.

Discography

Solo

With Run-D.M.C.