Diggy Simmons

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Diggy Simmons
VUMEE Launch 2012.jpg
Simmons at VUMEE Launch 2012.
Background information
Birth name Daniel Dwayne Simmons III
Also known as Diggy
Born (1995-03-21) March 21, 1995 (age 18)
Queens, New York, United States
Genres Hip hop, R&B, teen pop
Occupations Rapper, singer-songwriter, fashion designer
Years active 2009–present
Labels Atlantic Records
Associated acts Jeremih, Mindless Behavior, Lil Twist, All City Chess Club

Daniel Dwayne Simmons III (born March 21, 1995), better known by his stage name Diggy Simmons or simply as Diggy, is an American rapper and the fourth child of Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons of Run DMC. He, along with his parents and five siblings, were the primary subjects of the MTV reality television show Run's House. Diggy is also the youngest member of the hip-hop collective All City Chess Club.

Contents

Music career [edit]

Diggy Simmons released his debut mixtape, The First Flight , in 2009.[1][2] More than 100,000 people downloaded the album from Simmons' blog.[3] Following the album's release, according to Simmons, five record labels showed interest in signing him; he chose Atlantic Records.[4] Early in 2010, Simmons uploaded a video of himself freestyling over the Nas song, "Made You Look". The video became a viral hit[1] and garnered praise from Kanye West, who responded on Twitter: "I knew this kid was [going] to be fresh. I knew it!"[5]

Airborne, Simmons' second mixtape, was released in 2010.[1][6] It was preceded by the leak of the song "Oh Yeah!", which featured Pharrell Williams and Lupe Fiasco.[7] Album track "Great Expectations" was featured that year in a national AT&T television commercial.[1][8] Simmons released his third mixtape, "Past Presents Future", in December. The album, hosted by DJ Premier, features samples of songs from the 1980s and 1990s by such artists as Nas, A Tribe Called Quest and Rakim. A video was released for the track "Shook Ones", which samples the Mobb Deep song of the same name.[9]

Early the next year, Simmons was named one of Billboard's "Artists to Watch 2011" and was selected to XXL's annual Freshmen list.[10][11] "Click Clack Away", a song featuring Bruno Mars, leaked onto the internet in May. Simmons noted that the track would not be included on his debut studio album, set to be released by the end of the year.[12][13] He released his first major-label single, "Copy, Paste", soon thereafter.[1][14] The song's video was directed by Phil the God, who previously directed Simmons' "Made You Look", "What They Been Waiting For" and "Shook Ones".[15][16] Simmons performed the song during the pre-show for the 2011 BET Awards.[17] "Copy, Paste" peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in September.[18] That month, Simmons released the song "Just Begun" however Simmons tweeted on Twitter it was not going to be on the album.[19] Simmons is featured on the singles "Like 'Em All" by Jacob Latimore, "Mrs. Right" by Mindless Behavior and "Yeah Right" by Dionne Bromfield.[9][20][21] "Yeah Right" reached number 36 on the UK Singles Chart in April 2011.[22] On October 24, 2011 Diggy released "Do It Like You" as the second official single from his debut album, Unexpected Arrival a music video has been released with the song's featured artist Jeremih appearing in the clip. Also on February 24 the song "88" was released as the third official single. The song features Jadakiss and a viral music video was released for the track. [23]

Simmons has cited many rappers as his influences including Jay-Z, Nas, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, A Tribe Called Quest and Wu-Tang Clan.[8] He has also expressed an interest in alternative music, including such bands as Maroon 5, Passion Pit and Arctic Monkeys. Simmons said, "It’s a genre I would want to try in the future."[2]

Simmons announced that he is releasing his 4th mixtape titled, "Out Of This World" via Twitter on September 17th, 2012 & released a song from the mixtape titled "Fall Down" (featuring Victoria Monet). This is also the song used as a reply to rapper J. Cole's recent diss towards Simmons' older sister Vanessa Simmons, Cole's former girlfriend. But, Diggy's father, Joseph Simmons claimed on twitter, that it was recorded years ago and wasn't a reply to Cole's diss.[24]

Unexpected Arrival [edit]

Diggy's debut album, Unexpected Arrival was released on March 20th, 2012, a day before Simmons' 17th birthday. Billboard said it was "easy to find yourself nodding along".[25] It's sold 40,000 copies as of April of 2012.

Touring [edit]

Simmons has been on 3 tours, 2 of them hosted by Scream Star Entertainment (1 hosted by BET). His first tour was BET's 106 & Park "Closer To My Dreams" tour in the summer of 2011 starring Tyga, Mindless Behavior, Lil Twist, Jawan Harris, and Trevante. His second tour was Scream Tour's Next Generation tour in the fall of 2011 with Mindless Behavior, Jacob Latimore, and The New Boyz (also opening were The OMG Girlz). The third was his own "Life of The Jetsetter Tour" in late early 2012 with returning acts Jacob Latimore, The OMG Girlz, and added were Jawan Harris & new hip-hop duo TK-N-Cash.

In 2012, it was announced that Simmons would once again embark on a tour with Scream Star Entertainment, and got his own headlining spot. The Scream Tour: Next Generation Part 2 begins in late August 2012 with special guests Jawan Harris, The OMG Girlz, TK-N-Cash, YMCMB's Torion, and more.

Acting Career [edit]

Simmons had a small role in the 2012 comedy Parental Guidance starring Billy Crystal and Bette Midler, that opened across the United States December 25th, 2012. His part in the movie was cut due to "creative changes". It is unclear if Simmons' part in the movie will appear in a possible extended DVD released version. [26]

Simmons also landed his own 2-hour TV movie/show pilot on BET titled "The Start-Up". Simmons plays Blake, a 19 year old college student & blogger who tries to get his blog of 5+ years up & running with the help of his friends. Teyana Taylor stars also. This project is due in the Spring of 2013.

Clothing line [edit]

In 2010, Simmons launched a line of urban sneakers called Chivalrous Culture.[citation needed] He says he gets inspiration from other artists such as Kanye and Jay-Z [1] The first shoe model is called the "Hamachi". In a recent interview with Loni Swain, he revealed "Chiv Culture" has been discontinued.[27]

Discography [edit]

List of albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US US R&B US
Rap
Unexpected Arrival 13 3 2
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.
Mixtapes
  • The First Flight (2009)
  • Airborne (2010)
  • Past Presents Future (2010)
  • Out Of This World (2013)

Singles [edit]

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US US R&B US Rap
"Copy, Paste" 2011 — 24 21 Unexpected Arrival
"Do It Like You"
(featuring Jeremih)		 80 11 11
"88"
(featuring Jadakiss)		 2012 — —
"Two Up" 2012 — —
"4 Letter Word" 2012 — 94 —

As featured artist [edit]

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
[28]		 US R&B
[28]		 UK
(Dionne Bromfield featuring Diggy Simmons) 2011 — — 36 Good for the Soul
"Mrs. Right"
(Mindless Behavior featuring Diggy Simmons)		 72 8 — #1 Girl
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

See also [edit]

Awards and Nominations [edit]

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)

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Jeffries, David. "Diggy Simmons - Biography". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Kyles, Kara \,0,7029213.story (August 26, 2011). "Even More Diggy: Kyles Files Complete Q&A with Diggy Simmons". RedEye. 
  3. ^ Feeney, Michael J. (March 24, 2010). "Diggy, Son of Run-DMC Rapper Rev. Run, Inks Deal With Atlantic Records - Without Dad's Help". Daily News. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  4. ^ Ivey, Nile (March 31, 2010). "Diggy Simmons Explains Signing With Atlantic Records, Talks Five Label Bidding War". BET. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  5. ^ Roberts, Steven (March 25, 2010). "Diggy Simmons 'Made You Look' Freestyle Grabs Kanye West's Attention". VH1. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  6. ^ Malcolm, Jomarie (October 5, 2010). "Diggy Simmons is Airborne". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  7. ^ "New Music: Diggy Simmons f/ Pharrell & Lupe Fiasco – 'Oh Yeah!'". Rap-Up. August 21, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2011. 
  8. ^ a b Johnson, Derryck "Nes" (November 19, 2010). "Diggy, 'I’m Really Trying to Push the Bar With Hip-Hop'.". XXL. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  9. ^ a b Concepcion, Mariel (December 23, 2010). "Diggy Simmons Celebrates Christmas With DJ Premier-Hosted Mixtape". Billboard (Nielsen Company). Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  10. ^ "Diggy Simmons: Artists To Watch 2011". Billboard (Nielsen Company). January 24, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  11. ^ "XXL 2011 Freshmen Class: Diggy Simmons". XXL. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  12. ^ Ramirez, Erika (May 3, 2011). "Press Play: Freddie Gibbs, Young Jeezy, Diggy Simmons, Bruno Mars, Solange & More". Billboard (Nielsen Company). Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  13. ^ Cline, Georgette (September 1, 2011). "Diggy Simmons Won't Use Ghostwriters, Talks New LP". The Boombox (AOL). Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  14. ^ Stewart, Allison (May 30, 2011). "Singles File: Wu-Tang featuring RZA, Diggy Simmons’s ‘Copy, Paste’". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  15. ^ Markman, Rob (June 28, 2011). "Diggy Simmons' 'Copy, Paste' Is 'Anthem' For Innovators". MTV. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  16. ^ "Rap-Up TV: On Set of Diggy Simmons' 'Copy, Paste' Video". Rap-Up. June 30, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011. 
  17. ^ Thomas, LeVar (June 27, 2011). "Diggy Simmons 2011 BET Awards Performance". Stupid Dope. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  18. ^ "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop songs". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  19. ^ Fitzgenjkj, Trent (September 19, 2011). "Diggy - 'Just Begun' – Song Review". PopCrush. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  20. ^ Bylin, Kyle (July 7, 2011). "Uncharted Territory: Diggy Simmons Returns, The Knocks Feel 'Sunshine'". Billboard (Nielsen Company). Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  21. ^ "Lo nuevo de Dionne Bromfield, la protegida musical de Amy Winehouse". ABC (Spain). August 29, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  22. ^ "Chart Stats - Dionne Bromfield - 'Yeah Right' ft Diggy Simmons". Chart Stats. Retrieved September 22, 2011. 
  23. ^ "Unexpected Arrival". 
  24. ^ "Rev. Run & Vanessa Simmons Tweet About J. Cole x Diggy Beef". ATL Nightspots. April 1, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2013. 
  25. ^ http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/499423/diggy-unexpected-arrival-track-by-track-review
  26. ^ http://www.diggyworld.com/news/parental-guidance-update
  27. ^ Elder, Brandon (February 16, 2011). "Diggy Simmons Launches Sneaker Line: Chivalrous Culture". Complex. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
  28. ^ a b "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Diggy Simmons
Diggy Simmons
Studio albums
Mixtapes
  • "The First Flight"
  • "Airborne"
  • "Past Presents Future"
Singles
  • "Copy, Paste"
  • "Do It Like You"
  • "4 Letter Word"
Featured singles
Promotional singles
  • "88"
  • "Two Up"
Related articles
Authority control
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