In a post on his website Global Grind today, Russell Simmons praises "The Genius That is Kanye West." The Def Jam co-founder reflects back on his first encounter with Kanye West many years ago and a lunch the two shared just last week, and then shakes a common criticism of Kanye, submitting instead that "Certainly he wants a piece for himself…everybody would, but at his core, at the bottom of his heart, lies an inner-truth that has led to an external battle to make this world a bit easier for those who have been dealt a hand of struggle, by showing them a glimmer of hope through his art." And of those so-called "rants," he writes:
It is his generation that has this power. He knows it. He feels it. He tastes it. And he so badly wants it like mad. So, you may think he’s mad when he goes on his “Yeezy rants,” but it is a different kind of mad. It is a mad that keeps you up at night, knowing that if you fall asleep, you are wasting time. It is a mad that makes you go into the lab and work seven days with no sleep, cause you want to perfect your craft. It is a mad that sees the world still unfair for women and people of color, that makes you want to break down every door that they say is locked and can never be open. It is a mad-scientist kind of mad. One who wants to uplift his people to the top of the mountain, so in unison, they can chant from the top of their lungs, “No One Man Should All That Power!” He is fighting for his generation, his people, his country, his planet earth….like a motherfuckin’ monster!
It's a big deal to have a guy like Uncle Rush in your corner, and the honor was not lost on Kanye, who thanked him for his "kind insightful words" and "mentorship" on twitter.
