Review of On the Record

Russell Simmons was regarded as the king of Hip Hop and founder of Def Jam Recordings is the subject of sexual abuse allegations in this documentary. The allegations in this film were alleged to have taken place in the 1990s. The allegations are much like those directed at Harvey Weinstein who produced films at Miramax and, later, The Weinstein Company. The accounts of Simmons' acts of abuse and episodes of seduction are described in detail by several victims from the music and fashion businesses. This isn't a film one would "enjoy" because its purpose is to convey the pain and destruction experienced by the people in his destructive wake. The primary complainant is Sil Lai Abrams, an A & R person, who produced a number of major talents.