russell simmons, thank you for joining us on speaking freely.captioning provided by the first amendment center, funded by the freedom forum. captioning by tate at captionmax www.captionmax.com (female announcer) join us next time as we continue our discussion on free expression and the arts. for more information about speaking freely, visit our website at:

look at rap as an escape until, like, the mid 1990's when people started really making money, russell simmons master peas, then it was something serious around that time. >> charlie: but you understood, also, that crack cocaine was doing terrible thingso the neighborhood. >> later on. at the time, when you're doing it, you don't even think of the repercussions. it's almost a survival thing. you know, and after a while, after the survival thing it becomes an adrenalin thing. you start being addicted to the rush and the feel and the excitement of pulling up and nice cars, et cetera, you don't think about the damage that's being done -- you're immature, you're young, you don't think about nauntil later on when you become aware of who you are and the effects of what you are doing is having on the community. we was laughing at people who were -- right now, today it's sad. as a kid, it was funny. if i'm being completely hoevent -- >> charlie: you did this between the ages of 13 and 22. >> yeah. a little longer. >> charlie: a little longer? >> yeah. my first album came out when i was 26. basically,

russell brown's thing. neil styles and i? come on, man. i know the variety guys, i know everybody. >> oh, great. >> you guys got a minute? excuse me. the new season of "the gene simmonsething just happened. >> we had two kids. >> that slightly res i>>bl thfey >> if they kiss we'll catch it and show it later. we'll be back. just go. go. we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] we're made to mix, cozy up, spread joy. there's no story without a cast of characters, and just like we mix and mingle, so do the delicious tastes and textures in every handful of chex mix. we're made to mix. we break it, then we fix it. so you can start your day sunny side up. that's what we're made of. ♪ ♪ ba da ba ba ba that can take so much out of you. i feel like i have to wind myself up just to get out of bed. then...well, i have to keep winding myself up to deal with the sadness, the loss of interest, the trouble concentrating, the lack of energy. [ male announcer ] if depression is taking so much out of you, ask your doctor about pristiq®. pristiq is a prescription medicine proven to treat depression. pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain, sero