Russell Simmons blasts Jay-Z rumours

Russell Simmons has claimed that bloggers have attempted to create a feud between him and Jay-Z.

Simmons, who reportedly accused the rap superstar of being involved in corrupt dealings, has said that the recent allegations are "ludicrous" and insisted that Jay-Z is a "good friend".

The 52-year-old wrote on his Global Grind blog: "I don’t generally respond to the media’s trash or their never ending thirst for blood. I smile at the paparazzi and joke with the gossip writers. I laugh at most of the headlines that are written about me and dust the dirt off my shoulders.

"Speaking of dusting the dirt off my shoulders, I find it typical, not shocking, that this past week, many small-minded... bloggers tried to make up a feud between me and my good friend, Jay-Z, over New York’s much maligned Aqueduct redevelopment bid."

He continued: "It is much easier for the media to spread negative gossip than to report on real news, like healthcare reform or the catastrophe in Chile. Jay-Z is a champion, a hero, a friend of mine and I have proudly watched him raise a generation with his poetry. For the media to infer that Jay-Z is involved in any corrupt scandal is ludicrous, not the rapper, Ludacris, but ludicrous, like crazy… ludicrous, like me eating a piece of meat… ludicrous, like me not showing up for yoga, ludicrous like Jay-Z not being the King of New York, that kind of ludicrous.

"And what’s even more ludicrous is that they write that I am at odds with Jay. We have each endorsed our respective bidders for the Aqueduct deal, and my real question was never about Jay (I would bet my house that Jay-Z doesn’t have a crooked bone in his body), but about the decision making process in Albany.

"I am still mystified why New York State didn’t take the highest bid. Penn National Gaming, which I endorsed, offered $100m (£60m) more than any other competitor, and the State said that they only would accept the winning bidder, AEG’s, bid on the condition that they come up with an additional $100m (£60m) to match Penn National’s. That seemed to me fundamentally unfair as a bidding process, and totally untransparent."