"Def Jam's How to Be a Player" is rated R for rampant profanities, nudity, sex, a few vulgar gags and references, some violence, a brief scene of drug use and a couple of racial epithets. And aside from Desselle, it appears the only qualification for his female co-stars is that they bare their chests to the camera.īut believe it or not, they're all wonderful in comparison to the (thankfully) brief cameo by comedian Gilbert Gottfried as a smut-obsessed doorman. In his first starring role, he displays so little charm that it seems laughable to cast him as ladies' man. Then there are the awful writing, direction and performances.īellamy is terrible, obviously. But to their surprise, he thrives and Katrina is more than a little charmed by his attention to her.Īs mentioned, the film has a lot to overcome just based on its sexist and almost misogynistic premise and attitudes. She and Katrina find Dray's computerized "little black book" and invite his different girlfriends to the same party, in order to study how the sexual predator performs in a hostile environment. This rankles Jenny so badly that she steps up her revenge campaign against her brother. Johnson) are apparently studying him too, in order to get tips on how to "get a groove on" with women. In fact, she and her fellow anthropology student Katrina (Mari Morrow) are using him as a case study for their class.Īt the same time, Dray's buddies David (Pierre), Kilo (Jermaine Hopkins) and Spootie (A.J. Of course, not all women are charmed by Dray's "act," especially not his bitter sister, Jenny (Natalie Desselle). Not only does he have his choice of women every morning, afternoon and evening, he seems to keep it all secret from his sweet-natured, if naive, girlfriend, Lisa (Lark Voorhies). It should also be noted that this is one of the most sexist comedies in recent history - not only are all the male characters reduced to "dogs" who are looking for one sexual conquest after another, all the female characters evidently appreciate such attention and encourage it!īellamy stars as Drayton "Dray" Jackson, a record label talent scout whose success with the ladies is the stuff of legend. Martin, a music-video vetern, will have trouble finding another film gig. Let's just say that based on this performance, Bellamy will probably have a hard time finding another starring role, just as the film's director, Lionel C. Worse yet, it almost makes them seem funny by comparison.Īnd that's about all this tasteless and extremely unfunny comedy will probably be remembered for - if it is at all - except for serving as a debut vehicle for MTV "veejay" Bill Bellamy, whose dubious "talents" include bugging his eyes out and leering whenever possible.
In November 2017, Simmons stepped down from day-to-day operations of his company, following a series of sexual assault allegations that were made against him.Credit "Def Jam's How to Be a Player" for one thing: It makes its fellow urban sex comedies "Sprung" and "Booty Call" look like models of restraint and good taste. Throughout his career, Simmons emphasized the importance of hip-hop as a unifying force that transcended race, class and circumstance, which in turn fueled both his personal and business philosophies. He is also known for being a featured artist on Lil Kims record Crush on You from her debut album Hard Core. Cease also featured on the Def Jam-released soundtrack for the 1997 comedy film How to Be a Player alongside LeVert, Camron and fellow Harlem rapper Mase.
Simmons would later parlay his gains into numerous charitable organizations while continuing to maintain a hand in entertainment through film and television production. Throughout Ceases career helped keep the young rapper in the spotlight.
These and other ventures helped to make Simmons one of the wealthiest figures in the music business, with a net worth of $340 million by 2011. But Simmons' vision extended far beyond the music business, and he soon parlayed the financial returns from his label into film and television production, including the popular "Def Comedy Jam" (HBO, 1992-97, 2006-08) series and Eddie Murphy's "Nutty Professor" (1996) remake, as well as his own fashion line, Phat Farm. Russell Simmons rose to prominence as co-founder of the legendary Def Jam Records, which helped to introduce hip-hop music to mainstream culture through such landmark rap acts as Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J and Public Enemy.