--- title: Russell Simmons on Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian and Meditation description: The mogul explains why meditation matters — and why some troubled celebs could benefit from the practice canonical: https://time.com/24244/russell-simmons-interview-justin-bieber-meditation/ author: Belinda Luscombe article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-14T20:22:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:47:54.569Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Russell Simmons on Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian and Meditation og:description: The mogul explains why meditation matters — and why some troubled celebs could benefit from the practice og:url: https://time.com/24244/russell-simmons-interview-justin-bieber-meditation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfab1fdf83f7e63f2/6986858dadae444400541f7c/russell-simmons.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Russell Simmons "Success Through Stillness: Meditation Made Simple" og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Russell Simmons on Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian and Meditation twitter:description: The mogul explains why meditation matters — and why some troubled celebs could benefit from the practice twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfab1fdf83f7e63f2/6986858dadae444400541f7c/russell-simmons.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Russell Simmons to Justin Bieber: Please Meditate > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Russell Simmons: Why Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian Should Meditate [Watch (HLS stream): Russell Simmons: Why Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian Should Meditate](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/d7LJl6zR.m3u8) (3:09)  _Published 2014-03-13. Media mogul and Rush Communications CEO Russell Simmons talks to TIME's Belinda Luscombe about why he wants to convert Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian to meditation._  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Mar 14, 2014 8:22 PM UTC  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Mar 14, 2014 8:22 PM UTC Russell Simmons is already a guru in the worlds of hip-hop, poetry, comedy and fashion. But he went even further in a guru-like direction with the publication of his most recent book _Success Through Stillness: Meditation Made Simple_. The way Simmons sees it, he wouldn’t be the mogul he is today if he hadn’t learned to meditate. (His producer buddy Rick Rubin introduced him to it, apparently.) In the interview Simmons talked about why he’d love Bieber and Kim Kardashian to meditate (it’s a power thing); he also considered whether meditating had made him too soft to be a hip hop entrepreneur and his favorite yoga pose. In the fuller version of the interview, [available to subscribers here](http://time.com/22995/10-questions-with-russell-simmons/), Simmons gives some interesting advice to Hollywood, suggests a way of reducing the number of black men in prison and explains why he’s not one of the 1%. ## Transcript Aren't you worried that you have this reputation of being a super cool, hard core rap entrepreneur and super cool fashion designer that this whole meditation thing is too soft? People. I've been meditating for 20 years. I've been practicing yoga for 20 years. I've been writing books on happiness for 10 years. And I think everybody in the hip hop community knows Uncle Rush as a person who promotes well being. social, political, and philanthropic causes. I've been, things I've taken on over the years have, kind of, been a part of my, my persona. Well, you've sent teachers to Oprah, to Ellen, to a bunch of people. Is there, you mentioned Rahm Emanuel, but do you have a dream get, like somebody with a big mouth who really you would love to win over, and, and gah. I wanna get students. The people I get are people who share, ideas with the world. I'd like to get Kim Kardashian. Let me tell you why. Kim Kardashian? And, and, and Justin Bieber, two people. We had a big initiative to end, end the drug laws the way they are today. We had a, a, a letter that we sent, and Brad Pitt signed it, and everybody signed it, everybody. Every celebrity you could think of. We sent the letter off to the Attorney General, and a copy to the President. We pushed, made a big deal of it. We had a, we had a rally. We did all the work. Nobody did [ SOUND ], kinda quiet. Justin Bieber tweeted out, ding a ling, Attorney General on the line. [ LAUGH ] Justin Bieber, the man who gets legislation through. Well, we had another one where we said because Congress was attacking Muslims in a way that was unjust. Right after 9 / 11? Right. Un, right, un- American. No, later than that even. Un- American, so we said, I am Muslim for a day. We have this big thing, we have a rally. It made the cover of Daily News, Rally in the Rain. We had people, rappers came, preachers came, a lot of rabbis came, lots of rabbis. I am Muslim for a day, right? No one gives a [ SOUND ]. Kim Kardashian tweets it out. It gets on Al- Jezeera. It gets all over the news, international news, and then Congress shuts down the, the hearings. So, these people have such great influence that, that, you know, I want them to meditate, because as you meditate, you find greater purpose. And you find what makes you happy. And that is that greater purpose, you know, of service. You become more of a servant. You become more compassionate. Do you have a favorite yoga pose? [ COUGH ] Well, that would defeat the purpose. The idea of yoga is to smile and breathe. The physical yoga. And yoga is eight parts. The [ INAUDIBLE ] of practice. The most, the thing about [ INAUDIBLE ] is, you smile and breathe in difficult poses. Right. If I only went to the pose I liked, and the, I wouldn't be Right. So what's the most difficult, crow? Do you hate crow? I hate crow. No, crow's pretty easy. But, not for me. [ COUGH ], okay. My wrist, I can't do crow at all. I have bad wrists. I used to fall gracefully into a back bend, and stand up gracefully. My wrists are bad, I can't even do back bend. Oh. This is age setting in. Age. Certain [ SOUND ] I can't do. Inflexibility. No, I'm pretty flexible still, but I really can't do shit I used to do a lot of it. A lot of it is flexibility, yeah. I used to put both my feet behind my head and just like nothing, and now I. Just no, just one now? Just one now. Yeah, it's true actually, true. 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