Metallungies Hollers @ Rev. Run & Justine of MTV’s Run House, Interview.

The hip hop version of The Osbournes, Run’s House is not. The show is real life story of a normal, functional, happy family that sticks together through thick and thin. I had the chance to chat it up with Justine and Rev. Run. We discussed how widely appreciated Rev. Run’s words of wisdom are, how they’ve dealt with tragedy, what to look for in season 3, the family going to Wrestlemania and trust us, like ML always does, MUCH more.

Justine: Hi Metallungies.

ML: Hey what’s up guys? So what are you guys up to?

Rev Run: We are – well, we just got finished doing Oprah. And I felt like I needed to get some relaxation after I did so much press. The kids are off for spring break so we came to travel around a little bit to hotels and just do a little vacation.

ML: That’s cool. So the whole family is traveling?

Rev: No, just me, my wife and the two little boys.

ML: All right, all right.

J: Vanessa and Angela are on tour with their sneaker in Atlanta.

ML: Oh, all right.

J: With a new sneaker called Pastry.

ML: That’s from Run Athletics, right?

Rev: Yup.

ML: Do you want to talk about how Justine’s involved with that?

Rev: My wife actually came up with the idea to make sure that the girls got involved with the sneaker. You’ll see this in an episode. She sets me up to have the girls come and beg for the sneaker deal, which she is always doing. There is a full episode with Uncle Russell [Simmons] and me being coerced into giving them a sneaker deal. I don’t want to give the whole plot away, but they talk about this little birdie..

J: No they don’t believe in it until now. They see how amazing it is ML.

Rev: All right, so that’s the bottom line. They believe in it on the episode and it came to pass. And now it’s doing well.

ML: All right. Can you talk about the design that you have for the sneakers. I checked some models out. They have an Arthur Ashe one, right?

Rev: Yeah, in Run Athletics we have an Arthur Ashe sneaker. This is a special thing to the side. They are their own manufacturer V & A. Pastry is by V & A. Run Athletics is set up separately.

ML: Yeah, I got you. So, talk about the design that you want. What sets run Athletics apart from all the other sneakers that are out there?

Rev: Run Athletics is like an Adidas or a Nike. We went with the legacy program, because Arthur Ashe is one of the top tennis players of all time, if not the top. We are just on a path of quality sneakers. We are not there as a flash in the pan of a colorful sneaker. This is more about Arthur Ashe’s legacy, about his philanthropic efforts in Africa. Run Athletics is a very stable business. It’s not about just chasing teenyboppers to buy some sneakers. In the episode I’m actually arguing with Vanessa and Angela that that’s not what we’re about. We’re not about trying to make it little girly sneakers. That was the fight the whole episode. We don’t want to do this. They convinced us, and it is its own separate entity that’s really kind of like Run Athletics, but it’s really more their project. You’ll see that on the episode.

ML: Got you. With Run Athletics what you’re not trying to do is throw out 20 different models and see which one catches on?

Rev: Hell no. We’ve been with Arthur Ashe, and we’ll be with him forever. It was one of the first things. We might get another legacy going, but at this point we are Arthur Ashe for the next 10 years. You’ll watch us make Arthur Ashe happen. We have the staying power, and the patience until it does exactly what Nike does and exactly what Adidas does. We are going to have a classic sneaker.

ML: What moves do you have up your sleeve for Run Athletics? Is there anything in the future we should be looking for?

Rev: Well, you are going to see us putting on commercials. You’ll see a little bit of magazine articles and you will see us working closely with Jeanie Ashe on protecting the legacy of Mr. Arthur Ashe.

ML: Going onto the show, at the end of each episode, where you have your words of wisdom, do you get any feedback from those words? Have people ever come up to you in the street and been like, “Yeah, I really believe that.” Has anything like that happened?

Rev: I just got an e-mail from somebody who just wrote, “Hey Rev, I just wanted to tell you that I truly appreciate your words. They have hit home so many days. Blessings to your family.” A model Veronica Varekova got on my list through my brother. She just wrote about today’s word, “This is your best one ever.” I get beats back from LL Cool J and a bunch of people, today’s word was very short and to the point. It was just “Good morning, when you are thankful, you are never disappointed.” It’s usually longer than that, but this one hit home for some people. If you are thankful, you are never disappointed.

ML: Yeah, you can take that so many ways.

Rev: I love that one. I had a whole paragraph and I just broke it down, because it touched me so much when that hit my mind. You are only disappointed when you’re not thankful for what you have. When you are thankful you can’t be disappointed. They just don’t mix. That’s what keeps me happy. I’m never disappointed because I am always thankful that the sun came out. There is always something for me to be thankful about even when I went through some situations with tragedy. You’ll see an episode with my wife and the baby, and at the end of the hospital scene, I’m just sitting there going, “I’m thankful, I’m thankful.” You think, “What is there to be thankful about, you just lost your baby?” I’m thankful that my wife is fine. I’m thankful that I have five other children. Thankfulness will always wipe out ingratitude. I’m just a very grateful person.

ML: Yeah. Before we go any further, when I read on MTV news what happened with the Victoria Anne, I just want to offer my condolences. But I truly believe that she is in God’s hands now.

Rev: Thank you.

J: Thank you. You’re right.

ML: I was just stunned by that news when I read it through the wire.

Rev: We’ve handled that. We’ve mourned and we’ve moved on. We are thankful for your condolences.

ML: All right. The show is going into its third season. I want to ask each of you, what have been your favorite parts of the show? And what have been your least favorite parts of the show?

Rev: There is no least favorite part. My favorite part is having the energy of a bunch of people coming into my home with cameras. When my son Diggy said, “We have a nice happy home. But when those cameras come in – it’s just a very happy feeling to have those people with the cameras and the stuff set up in our garage.” It just becomes very family oriented. We love our crew. We love Jason Carbone and we love Mick, his partner, and all the people that put mics on us. It makes a happier home for us. There is no downfall for this particular family in having those cameras there. We like the energy.

J: And for me I would say the good part to this is us showing the sad time that we had about the baby, because it’s showing other people how to deal with it and we feel that that was part of God’s plan, and that he wanted us to help other people. I found out that there are so many women who lost way more babies than one. I thank God that he is using us as a vehicle to help him heal people.

Rev: And to show people how to move on. And to show people how to be thankful. In the Bible it says,” In all things be thankful.” Even in that we are taught to be thankful. We know that all things work together for good for those that love the Lord and are called according to his purposes. So since my wife and I know that we are called according to God’s purpose, we know in our heart that that was good for whatever reason.

J: Right. It’s a bigger picture. It’s a bigger picture. I think we are all going to see it later when God is ready to reveal.

Rev: He is revealing it day by day.

J: Yeah, he is. Definitely.

Rev: We did it on Oprah recently. So it is being revealed.

J: Yeah. I think another great episode that I love is that the girls getting their sneaker deal, because I really pushed for it. It was a real thing that they really wanted to do and they believed in it. They designed their sneaker, they designed the box, and they really believed in it. I’m really happy. Like my husband said, there is no bad part because it is our life.

ML: Are there any parts of the show that are twisted by the editing?

Rev: No, we edit.

ML: You do the editing?

Rev: We know what we are doing. First of all, they are not looking for dirt. It’s an American family of happy.

J: What you see is really what you’re getting. There is no wrong edit, because this is real.

Rev: We don’t mind if our hair is messed up. We are not smoking crack and hitting each other in the head with a pipe. So there’s nothing for us to be fearful of. And we are sitting on top of the show. We are not just puppets. Say you edit the show and show it to us later and shut the hell up – that’s not our life. We have power over it. J: And just to let you know, the reason why we are on and we have a show is because we really work hard. Before this show was thought of, we worked hard on making a great family. That’s why Andre Harrell, Puff Daddy, Russell Simmons, that’s why they came to us. We didn’t go to anybody and say, “Put us on TV.” People came to us and said, “You guys should be on TV.” We really work hard. People work hard on a career or work on something else they love. We work hard on having a great family and staying together and having meetings and going on vacation together. So this was our career before we were on TV.

ML: Before the TV, the good family was there.

J: Yes.

ML: All right. You mention Puffy. How did he become involved with the show? He came to you with the idea?

Rev: No. Russell’s friend, Andre Harrell, the former Motown president who just thought it would be a cute idea, approached us. He said,” You guys are a reality show.” Russell overheard him. We went to Hollywood and started to close a deal with ABC Family, because that’s where I wanted to be. So I was getting ready to close that deal and Puffy called out of nowhere, saying, “I have this great idea Rev!” I’m like, “What?” “I think you should do a reality show.” He didn’t know we were closing a deal. He just came up with this bright idea. I said, “You’re kind of late Puff. We’ve already got a show that we are about to sign tomorrow.” He said, “No, I’ve got the president of MTV on the line and we want to do it over there.” It will be better for you. So I sat and thought about it, called Russell, made him and Puffy connect. After that, we ended up on MTV instead of ABC family.

ML: So that’s how it all went down. I know you’ve probably been asked this question a gazillion times within the last few weeks, but what should people be looking for this season other than the things we’ve already mentioned before?

Rev: You should just be looking for a regular family life. Our daughters moved out. Everybody’s growing up. The main thing is the daughters moving out. That’s a something that has changed. They are now living in Manhattan. So you will see that on the show. But other than that it’s the same. There is no shock value, to Run’s House. The only thing that is shocking is that it is unshocking.

J: And also, of course for people who didn’t know yet, they will see that we lost the baby. Most people know, but a lot of people don’t know yet. So I guess that first episode will be shocking for them because they were with us when we found out that we were having one.

ML: Yeah. I know in the new season I have been reading that there is an episode where Daniel complains about getting picked up in the Rolls Royce. How come?

Rev: Because he feels that it is a little heavy on him to be flyer than everybody else. It makes him a little uncomfortable. But he learns. When Ja Rule‘s daughter pulled up in a Maybach the next three weeks, it stopped bothering him as much, you know what I mean. Sometimes it’s a little uncomfortable to be the leader. It’s a little uncomfortable to be so fly. Diggy’s on TV. He doesn’t want to overkill or overshadow his friends too much. But then, he also sees when we pull up they are screaming, “Whoa that’s nice!” It’s just a little bit of concern, but not anymore.

ML: Now he’s rolling with it?

Rev: I drove him up to the door the other day. We usually drop him at the bus stop. I drove him up to the door and everybody watched him get out. He didn’t care.

ML: All right. Do we see progression with Daniel’s and Joseph’s rapping, because I know in the previous seasons..

Rev: Jojo is deep into his album with his boys Teen Blackout. Daniel is into everything, we can’t even pinpoint. Yeah, he’s a clothing designer. We can’t pinpoint what’s Daniel is going to do.

J: He wants to act.

Rev: He dances his butt off and raps. He’s one of those golden children, a golden child. He can do it all.

ML: A jack-of-all-trades.

J: Yeah.

Rev: Exactly. So, that’s that.

ML: All right. Are there any cameos we can look forward to this season?

Rev: Our show is not a cameo type show none.

ML: All right.

Rev: Oh yeah, maybe at my birthday party there are some celebrities at the club, but there are no cameos because it’s a reality show.

ML: Yeah.

Rev: We don’t create this show. I don’t hang out with people. A cameo is my brother.

J: Right, and the other cameo that you saw was Puffy, that’s real.

Rev: We went to his office that day.

J: We are really hanging with him, and just went to his house on vacation in Miami.

Rev: We don’t look to put him on our show. It’s a reality show and you get to see our life.

J: It’s funny you said that, because a lot of people do think it is like that. And they will try and ask MTV, if they can be on. We have to tell them no.

Rev: You don’t hang with us, what are you doing standing in my kitchen? Yeah, if Brad Pitt were in the kitchen, how corny would that be?

ML: “Hey guys, we have Brad Pitt in the kitchen.”

J: The reason why we just said Brad Pitt’s name is because he loves the show.

Rev: He ordered all the episodes.

ML: Ah, nice. Nice.

J: Yeah, pretty cool.

Rev: I guess because he is a family man now, and he has all these new adopted kids. I guess he likes Rev’s family vibe, family man vibe.

J: They’re not all adopted. He has one now himself.

Rev: OK, good. What’s that one’s name? All right. Let’s go.

ML: All right. In one of the episodes, I believe it was last season or the season before, Justine goes to design her own jewelry, right?

Rev: Yeah, we’re working on that now. That’s getting ready to come out – Brown Sugar.

ML: Brown Sugar, right?

J: Yeah, and what I would really hope to do, the reason why I called it Brown Sugar is because I wanted to donate some of the proceeds to Africa. Hopefully, and God willing, if we have a fourth season we hope to go to Africa with Uncle Russell. He does a lot of business over there and just built a school there. So hopefully we will go there if we have a fourth season with the whole family.

ML: What kinds of designs are you trying to have with your jewelry?

J: The thing of it is that it is not just the designs. It’s the color. The diamonds are going to be brown, caramelish colors. The reason why it is called brown is because, of course, the people in Africa are brown. Because we are used to seeing white diamonds or yellow diamonds or whatever. But these diamonds are going to be chocolate colored, caramel color. And I also want classy colors and classy designs also, for older women.

ML: How long have you been working on this, the thought of this and been planning this all out?

J: It’s taken a while. A lot of people on the street ask me all the time, “Are you done? Is it out? Is it out?” It’s a long process. It’s longer than I thought. I thought it was going to be a quick thing. Of course, Uncle Russell is showing me that it takes time, it’s detailed, and you want to get the right thing out. You set a design in your mind. I’ll make a design and it will come back not what I want. Instead of me just putting it out, he’s telling me not to do that. It’s not how it looked in my mind, so don’t put it out, because then I will be disappointed if it doesn’t sell, because I’ll say well it’s not really what I imagined. Of course, he’s the type of person that doesn’t want to hear that. But hopefully it will come out by our fourth season.

ML: All right. That’s definitely something to look for.

J: Yeah, it is.

ML: A lot of people are probably going to be checking for it.

J: Yeah, and you are also going to see an episode with me. I have a new book out called, ‘God, Can You Hear Me?” If you don’t have a copy, I would love to send you a copy. It’s really, really an amazing book. I wrote it five years ago, but it just so happened that the timing that it was coming out was when I lost the baby. I really had to reflect on my own book, because it’s really supposed to be about teaching children how to speak to God or write to God at an early age and have a relationship with God. The book is like a Q & A, questions that kids may have that they may not want to ask their parents. One is, “My mom can’t afford designer clothing. God, can you hear me?” And then the answer to that is, “Just because your parents can’t afford those clothes, it doesn’t make you. Lets people know who you are on the inside and they will get to know who you are on the outside.”

ML: So the book is geared towards kids?

J: Yeah, it’s for ages from five to 10 It’s so great. Just to let you know that the pictures in it, the illustrator is Robert Papp. They are all paintings. Everything you’re going to see is a painting. The people, the things that are around the people were not even there. He painted all that stuff. He added all of that.

ML: Oh, all right. So there was a lot of hard work put into that.

J: Yeah.

ML: All right. Going back to the show, this question is to both of you. You probably get a lot of feedback from the show when you go out in public. Do you have a favorite specific moment of the feedback that you have gotten from people?

J: Well, for me I would say people love the episode where Reverend Run hid the cheeseburger.

ML: *laughs*

J: You’re laughing. You saw that?

ML: Yeah.

J: OK. When we were out, they’d always say, “Girl, you’d better eat that cheeseburger!” Or they tell him, “You’d better let her eat that burger!”

Rev: [in background] It’s wrong. It’s wrong. And now because of that, we have to fast on this vacation.

ML: *laughs*

J: ML, don’t laugh.

Rev: We’re having a meeting today on food control. It’s very true. And she knows it’s true. We have to go and find a bathing suit today and I’ve got to find mine and we can’t be too rubbery.

ML: *laughs*

J: ML, don’t laugh.

Rev: She knows it’s true. Jus, we’re going back to counting points today. That’s Weight Watchers. And she knows it’s true. Am I lying Jus? Do we need to calm down? *Laughter*

Rev: We need to get it under control right now.

J: I don’t want to talk about it. Do you have another question?

ML: Yeah. Run, what is your favorite moment from feedback regarding the show?

Rev: I guess, Kato Mate.

ML: Kato!

Rev: With all the kids. I’m in the kitchen, teaching them about this guy that used to live in Hollis. And I’m explaining to them that he used to come up to me every day and go, “Kato Mate, my brothers” and what I love about it is just my interaction with youth, with my children. I love the vibe of being able to handle a sleepover by myself if I have to and being able to make people, kids happy. I’m able to give them a good time at my house.

J: He’s the biggest kid, ML. And it’s so not true. Now that the kids are getting older he has to beg them. Sometimes he wants to get in the pool, and he’s like, “Come on Russy get in the pool.” Russy will come upstairs and say, “Mommy I don’t want to get in right now and daddy keeps begging me.”

ML: *laughs*

J: I go, “Please just go in for half an hour.” And he’s like, “But I don’t want to get in.” “Come on, let’s play basketball.” He tells them they’ve got to play. Could you believe that, a father making them play?

ML: But I’m not going to lie, I was saying Kato Mate for a little bit too.

J: Yeah, every time we see Puffy he says it.

ML: *laughs* Yeah, it reached a lot of people. Probably people that don’t even watch the show are saying Kato Mate and don’t even know why.

J: That’s true.

ML: A question I always ask everyone I interview is, so both of you can answer this, what is the last thing you bought? It could be anything. What is the last item that you have purchased?

Rev: Me?

ML: Yeah, both of you

Rev: Purchased. Like from a store.

ML: Yeah.

Rev: Condoms.

ML: All right.

J: Oh my gosh!

Rev: First it was the inhaler for Russy; let me see, no wait

J: I purchased the inhaler for Russy on my credit card.

Rev: Then I purchased the condoms from downstairs.

J: Oh

ML: All right. Honest answers. That’s what I’m looking for.

J: I think we could give you better answers.

Rev: That’s the last thing I bought.

ML: He’s being honest.

Rev: This morning. And that’s what I bought last night. What else did we buy? Inhaler, condoms. That’s it.

ML: *laughs*

Rev: That’s the truth.

J: This might be like a family show.

ML: It’s all right. Honesty is what I am looking for.

J: All right.

ML: All right. The other thing I always ask, is it do either of you follow sports? And if so, what are your favorite sports teams?

Rev: We don’t follow sports.

J: No, but we just went to an amazing Wrestlemania.

Rev: We went to Wrestlemania.

J: It was crazy and the boys got to meet all their favorite wrestlers backstage. It was just awesome.

ML: This was just on Sunday, right?

J: Yes, it was amazing. We had front row seats. We were excited. I was happy.

ML: All right. So you guys are wrestling fans?

J: Our kids are. I kind of follow because they tell me a little bit, but I was a huge fan that night. I was probably one of the loudest people in the damn Ford arena.

ML: Who is your favorite wrestler?

J: I like John Cena, is that it?

ML: Yeah, John Cena.

J: I like John Cena and

Rev: Hulk Hogan, that’s all she knows.

J: I love Hulk Hogan, but I know he’s not really wrestling anymore. I love the MVP, but I heard he’s not really so cool. I heard he might be lik

Rev: You hated him two days ago, man.

J: Whatever.

Rev: You weren’t a fan.

ML: *laughs*

J: I told him that, I said I became a fan. I said I

Rev: She name drops.

J: Yeah, like I name drop. MVP is really cool.

Rev: All right. Next question.

ML: Run, do you have a favorite wrestler?

Rev: No.

ML: All right. Honesty.

J: You like Hulk Hogan. He was only shouting for the legends, oh God, oh God Yeah, and Jojo was mad because Jojo wanted the other guy to win. He was rooting for any legend and Jojo was getting upset.

Rev: All right! All right! Next question.

ML: *laughs*All right. I wanted to compare what kind of music you listen to. What’s the last CD that, Justine, you’ve listened to? And what about you Run?

Rev: I listened to Jeezy on the plane on Jojo’s iPod. It was amazing. I love his new single, ‘Dreaming’ that’s coming out now. I love ‘Go Getta’ with R Kelly.

J: And I would say Sade.

ML: What album?

J: All of them.

ML: All of them?

J: Yeah, the’ Greatest Hits’. He didn’t tell you he loves

Rev: I love Sade.

J: He loves Frank Sinatra. That plays all the time in our house.

ML: All right. What are the kids listening to right now? Do they have a favorite CD?

Rev: They listen to the radio stations.

J: Oh God. Yeah, they know everything. Except Russy, Russy doesn’t care.

ML: Russy is not a music head?

J: He knows stuff, but he doesn’t have a favorite. He doesn’t chase it down like Jojo and Diggy and Vanessa and Angela. Knowing Russy, he’ll say something like he loves ‘Bringing Sexy Back’ or something like that.

ML: *laughs* All right. So he knows the popular stuff?

J: [Asking Russy in the background] Hey, what’s your favorite? Do you have a favorite song Russ?

Rev: He says ‘Bringing Sexy Back’. What else?

ML: Oh, all right! That’s all? Of the many contributions, Run DMC has made in hip-hop, numerous ones, which one stands out to you the most?

Rev: Accomplishments?

ML: Contributions to hip-hop.

Rev: I don’t know man. That’s a hard question. I just do what I do. I don’t keep a list of that type of stuff. I just do, and then they name, whatever it is. I just have fun rapping. I don’t know about contributions. I don’t brag like that.

ML: All right. This is to both of you. In rap today a lot of the rappers are bachelors. Would you consider yourself maybe as like the power couple of hip-hop, maybe an example?

Rev: I don’t know. We don’t brag like that. We are not the power nothing. We love each other. We share. We serve on this earth and hope people enjoy watching us. That question makes me uncomfortable.

ML: All right. Do people ever come to you for advice regarding relationships?

Rev: All the time. Everybody. Lots of people ask me for advice, and I give it out.

ML: All right. Well with your phone you are always sending out your words of wisdom. How often do you use your phone? Are you addicted to your phone?

Rev: We are sitting here with it in our hands now.

J: I just got mine a few weeks ago and I’m addicted now.

Rev: Don’t say addicted. We’re not addicted. We use it. It’s fun.

J: We are not addicted. I like it.

ML: You’re just heavy users, not addicted.

J: I feel like I have a Game Boy or something now.

ML: Are the kids going to get some soon?

J: Yeah, they have Sidekicks. Russy wasn’t supposed to get one. Diggy got the new Dwyane Wade Sidekick for his birthday. Russy wanted one so badly but we told him he didn’t have anybody to call, he didn’t have anybody to chat with.

Rev: So now he’s texting Diddy’s kids all day long.

J: He bought his own, and now he has one. He’s a real money guy. We named him the right person, because he went and bought his own. He put up his own money that he made and bought his own. So now he only has Diddy’s kids to text. So he’s texting them to death. Poor kids.

Rev: Justin and Christian and so.

ML: Do you guys text each other?

Rev: My wife just responded to my daily e-mail and wrote, “Good one.”

ML: Oh, all right.

Rev: Sitting here, she wrote it to me.

ML: So you’re never out of touch with text messaging.

Rev: No, we enjoy it.

ML: All right. Do you have your own favorite gadget that you can’t live without other than the phones?

Rev: No, all I do is the Blackberry.

ML: That’s all you need?

Rev: That’s it.

ML: What about you Justine?

Rev: She’s the same way. Hot trailer. Oh, we’ve got to order that stuff downstairs.

ML: All right. And the last question I’m going to ask you and then I’m going to let you guys enjoy the rest of your vacation, is what do you have planned for the vacation? What are you guys trying to do?

Rev: We’re at the Venetian, but we’re going over every day to the Mandalay Bay. They have a built in beach that’s reportedly incredible. The outside bungalows are amazing. They are like houses.

J: Flat screen TVs.

Rev: They have flat screen TVs.

J: Couches. Rev: Couches. The kids are running in and out of the pool, hot dogs flowing, giggling, and laughing. We are not going to have hotdogs today. I’m counting points.

J: They have a wading pool and a lazy river.

Rev: It’s amazing. We are on our way there when we get off the phone with you.

J: You said we’re not counting points?

Rev: We are counting points.

ML: *laughs*

Rev: No hotdogs today.

ML: We don’t want any miscommunication. Thanks a lot for your time.

J: Thank you.

Rev: Bye.

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Catch the whole Simmons clan on Run’s House which is currently in its 3^rd season and airs Mondays @ 10pm on MTV.

Bonus, this short interview shows why Run rules: