Lindsey Blair Hallman

There’s a certain comfort that comes along with following the safer path in life. Decisions are made, and goals are set as we unclench and relax in our unchallenged contentment. Most of us would snub that unpleasant pang telling us that there’s so much more we were meant to be doing. Well, for Daniel Simmons, ignoring it was out of the question. He found himself at a life-changing crossroads twenty-three years ago—and he’s never looked back.

Danny (that’s what his friends and family call him) is the older brother of dubbed American business magnate, Russell Simmons, and legendary rapper, Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons of Run DMC, and his life is surely not void of adventure. He was led into the transcendent world of poetry by his father, Daniel Simmons, Sr., and stood by his side as they picketed in support of civil rights. Danny took the words of his mother, Evelyn Simmons, to heart when she encouraged him to water that creative seed growing inside of him and introduced him to the paintbrush.

“I’ve always wanted to help people,” Danny says about his decision to pursue a bachelor’s degree in social work at New York University. “It was as simple as that.” He watched as his brothers began to dominate the music industry, but when asked if he wanted to join in, he humbly declined. Danny continued to further his education at LIU Brooklyn, where he received his master’s degree in public finance. “LIU was a blessing,” he says. “My favorite part of graduate school was linking my work for the commissioner of the department of employment with my thesis on budget reduction and productivity improvement at the same time,” continues Danny, who is now a member of LIU’s Board of Trustees.

But, after eight years of working in the public sector, Danny felt that all-too-familiar pang return—he knew something was not right. “I realized I wasn’t making a difference, and I wasn’t happy.” Then, as Danny recalled the motivational words of his mother—he knew what he had to do. “Go be an artist,” she told him. “Nobody will let you starve.” And that’s exactly what he did.

After moving to a loft in Williamsburg—the influential hub for the Brooklyn art community —Danny knew there was no turning away from his affinity for painting. Taking his cues from noted idols like Picasso and Dali, while also appreciating the beauty of unknown Pygmy painters and African textiles, Danny began to unleash what he calls his “flow of the unconscious.” His paintings—bright and full of life—are now part of collections at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn Museum, Chase Manhattan Bank, Deutsche Bank, the Schomburg Center for Black Culture, The Smithsonian and the United Nations, and have been exhibited in France, Amsterdam and Ghana.

You could say that Danny’s natural inclination to help people came full circle when he used his success in the art world to found the RUSH Philanthropic Arts Foundation and the Rush Arts Gallery—exposing the arts to inner city youth across New York City and offering exhibition opportunities to emerging artists of color.

As if that wasn’t enough, Danny also has managed to kick down the literary door— authoring two widely praised novels, “Three Days as the Crow Flies” and “I Dreamed My People Were Calling But I Couldn’t Find My Way Home,” and coauthoring the graphic novel “85.” But his greatest literary accomplishment? Creating the HBO series “Def Poetry Jam,” which became a Tony Award-winning Broadway show that spawned two national tours.

In recognition of his accomplishments, LIU presented Danny with an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at last May’s commencement.

So, after all is said and done, when asked if Danny Simmons made the right choice twenty-three years ago to leave it all behind and follow the road less traveled—he answered, “I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Written by Lindsey Hallman for LIU Magazine