Bobby
September 30th, 2006, 09:23 AM
Rapper's Family Grieves The Death of a Newborn
http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/293-simmonses.JPGJoseph Simmons (l.), attending an event last year with his brother, Russell, who said Joseph's family is struggling with the loss of a newborn child. Rap music pioneer Joseph (Rev. Run) Simmons and his wife, Justine, were coping very publicly yesterday with a personal tragedy - the death of their newborn daughter on Tuesday at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, N.J.
"I just spoke to Joey and Justine, and they're very strong - the whole family is very strong," rap mogul Russell Simmons, Joe's older brother, told me yesterday. "Being overwhelmed by grief is the normal state of things, but they recognize that it's all God. I don't think they're overwhelmed by grief, but they're struggling."
Apparently a camera crew from their popular MTV reality show, "Run's House" - which has been renewed for a third season - was in the delivery room when the baby arrived by Cesarean section and died a short time later.
"I'm sure MTV was there," Russell said, adding that the show will have to deal with the tragedy. An MTV spokeswoman declined to comment.
"On Sept. 26, 2006, Victoria Anne Simmons for some unknown reason chose to come early and unfortunately did not survive," Joe Simmons, the father of five, said in a statement yesterday after the scoopy celeb Web site TMZ.com (http://www.tmz.com/) first reported the sad event. Justine recently told Jet magazine that the baby was due in October.
"We must accept whatever is there, and once you accept unconditionally, then everything is beautiful," added Simmons, an ordained minister who E-mails inspirational daily prayers to friends. "Every pain has a purifying effect. So whatever comes your way, just be thankful. We see life in death and believe in the celebration of life in death." That was yesterday's E-mailed prayer. Russell Simmons - who said funeral arrangements were still unclear - discounted TMZ.com's report that the baby emerged with some organs outside the body. "I don't think that's true," he told me.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/293-simmonses.JPGJoseph Simmons (l.), attending an event last year with his brother, Russell, who said Joseph's family is struggling with the loss of a newborn child. Rap music pioneer Joseph (Rev. Run) Simmons and his wife, Justine, were coping very publicly yesterday with a personal tragedy - the death of their newborn daughter on Tuesday at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, N.J.
"I just spoke to Joey and Justine, and they're very strong - the whole family is very strong," rap mogul Russell Simmons, Joe's older brother, told me yesterday. "Being overwhelmed by grief is the normal state of things, but they recognize that it's all God. I don't think they're overwhelmed by grief, but they're struggling."
Apparently a camera crew from their popular MTV reality show, "Run's House" - which has been renewed for a third season - was in the delivery room when the baby arrived by Cesarean section and died a short time later.
"I'm sure MTV was there," Russell said, adding that the show will have to deal with the tragedy. An MTV spokeswoman declined to comment.
"On Sept. 26, 2006, Victoria Anne Simmons for some unknown reason chose to come early and unfortunately did not survive," Joe Simmons, the father of five, said in a statement yesterday after the scoopy celeb Web site TMZ.com (http://www.tmz.com/) first reported the sad event. Justine recently told Jet magazine that the baby was due in October.
"We must accept whatever is there, and once you accept unconditionally, then everything is beautiful," added Simmons, an ordained minister who E-mails inspirational daily prayers to friends. "Every pain has a purifying effect. So whatever comes your way, just be thankful. We see life in death and believe in the celebration of life in death." That was yesterday's E-mailed prayer. Russell Simmons - who said funeral arrangements were still unclear - discounted TMZ.com's report that the baby emerged with some organs outside the body. "I don't think that's true," he told me.