Russell Simmons snagged a Tony for his groundbreaking
Broadway poetry series, "Def Poetry Jam" last night at the 57th annual
Tony Awards at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
Def Poetry took home the award for Special Theatrical
Event.
"When artists write spoken word or write
to silence criticism and injustice, the results are always good," Simmons
told AllHipHop.com. "Us being on Broadway and this award shows the power
that hip-hop has."
Def Poetry was among the evenings winners, which
included "Hairspray," which took home 8 awards, "Nine,"
"Long Day’s Journey Into The Night" and others.
“Poetry has become a premier form of expression.
To have it recognized by them is a major accomplishment," Simmons continued.
When Simmons excepted the award, he thanked all
of those that embraced the series with open minds.
"I remember all the millions and millions
of records we sold before the Grammys even knew we existed, and we came here
and you all promoted us and gave us the best resources and support we could
have hoped for — so thank you all so much."
