Diggy

Diggy Simmons, a rapper and actor who inked a recording contract prior to obtaining a driver’s license, obtained his Atlantic major-label agreement on the basis of his opening mixtape The First Flight (2009). Two years later he scored his initial charting single via “Copy, Paste” and drew widespread attention through inclusion in XXL’s Freshman Class, both of which paved the way for the number-13 debut of his first full-length project, Unexpected Arrival. A succession of standalone tracks and screen appearances, among them a recurring part on Grown-ish, preceded his second independent release, the concise Lighten Up (2018).

Born Daniel “Diggy” Simmons in the Queens borough of New York City—the same neighborhood as his father, Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons of Run-D.M.C.—the younger Simmons first entered public view in 2005 as a cast member of the family reality series Run’s House. He asserted his own musical identity four years afterward with The First Flight, a mixtape presented by DJ SpinKing. A 2010 freestyle over the beat of Nas’ “Made You Look” quickly circulated online and prompted Atlantic Records to offer a contract; at fifteen years of age Simmons accepted and commemorated the deal by issuing the follow-up mixtape Airborne, which contained “Great Expectations,” a track later placed in a nationwide television campaign for a leading U.S. cellular carrier. In 2011 the Pop & Oak-crafted single “Copy, Paste” climbed to number 24 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart, while Simmons also contributed to Mindless Behavior’s Top Ten R&B/hip-hop single “Mrs. Right.” Additional collaborations arrived via Jacob Latimore’s “Like ’Em All” and the Jeremih duet “Do It Like You,” both of which charted, and Simmons was named to XXL’s annual Freshman Class. Working with producers including D’Mile, Pop & Oak, and Soundz, he completed his debut album; Unexpected Arrival arrived in March 2012 and entered the Billboard 200 at number 13. Acting engagements and sporadic singles occupied the ensuing years until November 2018, when, after appearing in several episodes of the Black-ish spin-off Grown-ish during its first season, Simmons returned to music with the short independent collection Lighten Up.