He bridged hip-hop and poetry, became Def Jam's first signed poet, and mentored a new generation. Inside Black Ice's legacy ...

Philadelphia's spoken-word community is mourning one of its fiercest voices. Lamar Manson, the Philadelphia-born poet known ...

Black Ice, the legendary Philadelphia poet whose unforgettable performances on Def Poetry Jam helped elevate spoken word into the mainstream, has died, leaving behind a powerful artistic legacy.

Chance The Rapper is one of hip-hop’s hardest working artists and the Chicago rapper may now be adding another job to his resume. According to a tweet from Russell Simmons, a reboot of HBO’s Def ...

The advent of Def Poetry on HBO was years in the making. Through the efforts of Bruce George, Deborah Pointer and Danny Simmons, the Def Poetry Jam concept was presented at venues across the country, ...

Seventeen years after the HBO show ‘Def Poetry Jam’ went off the air, co-creator Danny Simmons is reviving the spoken word showcase in Philadelphia. Danny Simmons, creator of Def Poetry Jam, has ...

Russell Simmons made a mint peddling rap records from a dorm room in the early 80s. But these days the Def Jam label is being used to sell lots besides hip-hop: urban comedy, video games, even ...

Russell Simmons is looking to restart his Def Poetry Jam and is talking with Grammy-winner Chance the Rapper to host it. Simmons teased the new project, which would be called All Def Poetry, yesterday ...