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Unlikely encounters: 16-year-old Phat Farm fan from Bourne meets Russell Simmons at Faneuil Hall
BY CAMILLE DODERO
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TUESDAY, JULY 27, 2004 -- It was a little after 8:30 a.m. on the first morning of the Democratic National Convention and the Godfather of Hip-Hop stood outside Faneuil Hall, waiting for his turn in the directors’ chair. Hanging with Run-DMC’s dapper Reverend Run, Russell Simmons -- founder of Def Jam records, creator of the Phat Farm clothing line, a famous figure often credited with bringing hip-hop into the mainstream -- was in town for the Boston Hip-Hop Summit that would later take place at Roxbury Community College. But Fox 25’s morning show had managed to snag him for a quick conversation in directors’ chairs with Gene Lavanchy. So here he was, wearing his own clothing line: a navy baseball cap and a blue-and-white striped Phat Farm zipper-down shirt. Standing there while his suited, five-man entourage passed around a cell phone, Simmons spotted something that piqued his interest: a pimply white kid gawking at him from outside the enclosure. The music mogul beckoned and the 16-year-old nervously approached the partition. Simmons wanted to inspect the kid’s T-shirt: a wrinkled, gray-and-white Phat Farm jersey. It was like driving a Chrysler and passing Lee Iacocca; Simmons grinned proudly and hit the kid’s fist. The kid’s name was Kevin. And as it happens, the Bourne native had no idea that the maker of his T-shirt line would be here. He’d come into town with two friends thinking the Today Show would be filming outside Quincy Market. But they couldn’t find Katie Couric, so when they spotted a black Denali with tinted windows pulling up and then saw Russell Simmons saunter out with a small, suited entourage, they freaked. This celebrity sighting was definitely better than getting interviewed by Al Roker: he’d just had a moment with Russell Simmons! But Kevin couldn’t understand why more people weren’t gathered around. "Half the people here don’t even know that’s him," Kevin said in disbelief. It was like he and his pals had a secret. "They’re all walking by and they don’t even know." "You are so lucky your wore that shirt today," said Kevin’s friend, a freckled blonde kid with a crew cut. Kevin sat down on a wooden bench and stretched his arms out like a pimp on a sofa. He felt like he was on a roll. "Now we gotta find P. Diddy."
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