Russell Simmons Creates New Company to Help Bridge Brands and Hip-Hop

Russell Simmons recently launched a new business venture whose aim will be to help brands better appeal to hip-hop audiences in a more genuine way.

Dubbed ADHD, the new agency will be an in-house branch of All Def Digital, Simmons' media company. His intent with the new venture is to bridge the gap between Hollywood, big brands and the diverse ever-evolving constituents of the hip-hop culture.

"No one really understands this audience. It's multiracial, but singularly cultural. It started out 95 percent black, and now it's 45 percent non-black, and that's going to keep growing," he recently told AdWeek. "The audience we speak to is overlooked and underserved. A lot of the content Hollywood creates doesn't serve this audience. We want to help brands frame their messaging in an honest way."

The new venture will be headed by R/GA managing director Josh Mandel. And Simmons hopes it will lead to some authentic changes in the way brands interact and market the hip-hop generation. "There's a psychology associated with hip-hop culture that's very brand-friendly," said Russ. "They're the best brand building community in the world, and they're also the hardest to reach. They have the best bullshit meter. You can't patronize them. If brands don't look honest to them, they'll tear them down."

Simmons launched All Def Digital back in 2013 giving upcoming comedic and music talents a web platform to create content. It currently manages a stable of talent including social media stars, rappers, actors and writers.

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