Diggy Simmons

( September 6, 2012 )

It's not just the fact that rapper Daniel Dwayne "Diggy" Simmons III, 17, grew up rich that some people mind. It's not just that he grew up with a famous father (Rev. Run Simmons, who co-founded Run-D.M.C.) or a famous uncle (hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons). It's the lack of any formative struggle that seems to rankle: In hip-hop, no struggle = no street cred. Simmons' connections, his life of soft landings, have helped him get where he is (the middle of the adolescent pop-rap pack, super flyweight-Not Drake division), but they've brought unwelcome scrutiny too. "Why should I apologize/ For my father's wallet size?" Simmons wonders on "Unforgivable Blackness," the most awkward and interesting track on his formal debut, "Unexpected Arrival," but he sounds as if he already knows the answer.

Read the full Diggy Simmons interview

7 p.m. Saturday at The Arie Crown Theater, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive; $29.50-$39.50; 800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com

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