Many people credit Russell Simmons with instilling the idea that hip hop is an invaluable source for positive social change.

Along with his brothers Danny Simmons and Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons, he founded Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation in 1995. The organization is dedicated to providing disadvantaged urban youth with significant exposure and access to the arts, as well as offering exhibition opportunities to underrepresented artists and artists of color.

Following the historic Hip-Hop Summit he organized in June 2001, Russell founded the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) to harness the cultural relevance of hip-hop music as a catalyst for education advocacy and other societal concerns fundamental to the well being of at-risk youth throughout the US.