Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money, and God.

Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money, and God by Russell Simmons with Nelson George Crown Publishing, October 2001, $24.00 ISBN 0-609-60607-7

For those who've been fiending to know how this hip-hop guru has garnered rap gold (and platinum) greatness, Life and Def delivers. Whether you feel the book or not, one thing is certain, Simmons's love for hip hop in general, and rap in particular, can't be mistaken. He raves about Jay-Z, DMX, Biggie and P. Diddy. And if that helps him to make the world a better place, he says, "I will have seen my own usefulness."

The book is just as much business primer as it is about the life of a man who has been instrumental in bringing musical art to the masses. And, he tells it with all the frankness of comedian Bernie Mac at a therapy session, going off on himself and anybody else he feels deserves ink time.

Simmons makes it clear he doesn't have a problem handling business--whether on the street or in an executive boardroom suite.

For example, in the chapter, "Making Records," he writes about what it means to stay competitive, "The basic truth about the record business is this--you get ripped off and then you learn to rip off the next person. It may sound simplistic but that's how I've seen it work. Now, I was never jerked by the people who first brought me in the record game ... so I don't jerk people. I know that sounds simplistic but then the truth is always very simple. It's lying that's tricky. So treating people fairly is one reason I'm still here and so many of my former competitors are not."

Simmons also covers some of the same ground his younger brother Joseph, "The Reverend Run" Simmons, covered in his autobiography, It's Like That: A Spiritual Memoir. (St. Martin's Press; reviewed in BIBR, May-June 2001, page 26). Like the effect of having both a big libido and a fat wallet, for example. The result is a brother with a constant hard-on for "cute Queens girls to punk rock girls with spiky hair to (fashion) models." Models became Simmons's ultimate piece de resistance (he's married to former model Kimora Lee) as he writes: "I really got into models because a) they are tall and fine as f-- and b) their lifestyle. They traveled, and were more worldly than the average young woman, Moreover their schedules were flexible so I could say, `Come with me to LA to the Grammys,' and they didn't have to worry about a 9 to 5. They could just pack up the travel bag and go."

The drug scene doesn't escape Simmons's mention either. His foray into drugs came as a young, street-corner pharmacist, growing up in Hollis, Queens, New York. He writes of having "almost killed somebody" named Red over drugs; or buying a home in Brooklyn where the drug scene was so blatant that crackheads would knock on his door asking if he wanted a hit of the pipe. And he would accept.

Simmons's brother Run recalled his spiritual epiphany in his book It's Like That; and Russell, too, speaks of his spiritual transformation. Whereas Run's renewal was via the church, Russell's has been through the study of yoga. "The practice of yoga has changed my life ... My spiritual sense is stronger than ever ... My experiences with yoga have taught me the practice of finding God everywhere and even within myself."

No surprise then, that Simmons ends Life and Def with a beatitude-like fivesome that encompasses his lessons for living.

1. In any new business, someone has to have a vision.

2. You are only as good as the people around you.

3. People aren't good or bad--just smart or stupid.

4. Don't try to be all things to all people.

5. Nothing happens the way it's supposed to.

This book is insightful. Although, at times, Simmons comes across like he's at a celebrity mixer, dropping names and titles like rapper Ludacris throws bows. But, so what? This is a brother who should know people. It's a fast read with lots of insider details and gossip. Anybody who cares about rap should read this book.