Russell Simmons is telling funny man Bill Cosby to ease up off of hip-hop and urban youth.
 
For years, Bill has been openly critical of hip-hop, the culture surrounding it and young people living under its influences. Well, Russell has heard enough, and he’s got a few words for America’s favorite dad (well…grandpa now).
 
The hip-hop mogul used his blog on Global Grind to issue an open letter to Bill and curmudgeons everywhere asking them to do something about the very issues they criticize.

 
“While it is true that each one of us can make a change at any moment, it is equally true that at every minute we are all doing the best we can. If you knew better, you would do better,” Russell encouraged. “Therefore, those who care and have resources could/should work to create the kind of support systems that could inspire change.”
 
The businessman said that he realizes Bill says what he says because he wants to see kids do more despite their environmental limitations—namely the drug epidemic and “the crumbling education system that we school them in.”
 
“It is certainly not that he and the rest of the elders don't care, because they do. In fact, their intentions are pure and good,” Russell wrote. “All the things they say are actually true. What they don’t understand is that the young people who they criticize did not create their own realities.”
 
In the spirit of fairness, Russell asked Bill and people his age to take an honest look at their own behaviors. He contended that what they see might not be a flattering reflection.
 
“Mr. Cosby, you know that your generation is carrying a lot more dirt, you are all just smart enough to cover it up,” Russell asserted. He added that he felt older people are quicker to destroy the plant or promote war.
 
But to promote a diplomacy spirit, Russell suggested that it was time to stop pointing fingers and sit down a for a long overdue chat that might help one generation understand the other a little better. “If you need an office to do it in, my door is always open,” he offered in closing.

-- Sonya Eskridge

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