Episode #226: Drew Dixon – Former A&R Executive at Def Jam and Arista, Subject of the HBO Max Docuseries On the Record about her Decision to Publicly Accuse Russell Simmons of Sexual Abuse

The guest for this episode is Drew Dixon, the accomplished former Vice President of A&R at Arista Records, a former Director of A&R at Def Jam Recordings, the former General Manager of John Legend’s independent label Homeschool Records, and the former manager of recording artist Estelle. Dixon is the center subject of the HBO Max Docuseries On The Record, which presents her powerful haunting story as she grapples with her decision to become one of the first women of color, in the wake of #MeToo, to come forward and publicly accuse hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons of sexual assault. It also features the stories of other women accusing Simmons of sexual assault too including founding member of the first all-female DJ and rap group “Mercedes Ladies” Sheri Sher and former model, now domestic violence awareness activist Sil Lai Abrams. The film also dives into the abuse she suffered from L.A. Reid during her time at Arista. We talk about the documentary, along with her impact on the music industry including her work on projects like Method Man & Mary J. Blige‘s “I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By”, The Show Soundtrack, Q-Tip‘s Amplified LP, and Estelle’s ‎Shine LP. We also talk about how the subject of racism, colorism, misogyny, and rape culture are present in our culture.

TRIGGER WARNING: There is discussion of rape and abuse in this episode.

Links to subjects mentioned in this episode and other resources:

– Sheri Sher: Twitter | Instagram

– Sil Lai Abrams: Website | Twitter

– On The Record (HBO Max Docuseries): hbomax.com/on-the-record

– Drew Dixon’s Impact Spotify Playlist

– It’s Time to Stop Treating Black Female Survivors of Sexual Assault as Race Traitors (Marie Claire article by Sil Lai Abrams)

– ‘You Can’t Escape Him, He’s Ubiquitous’ (Interview with Sil Lai Abrams by Shamira Ibrahim for TheCut.com)

– Ella Wylde on Spotify

– Ella Wylde on Instagram (@ellawylde)

Follow Drew Dixon:

Twitter: twitter.com/deardrewdixon

Instagram: instagram.com/deardrewdixon

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