With over 20 million views on YouTube, there is no doubt that hip-hop recording artist and record producer Russ is onto something with his hit ‘What They Want’. The song is climbing Billboard’s Top 100 Songs – it climbed to 84 from last week’s position of 95. Russ is selling out performances across the country – he’s even sold out concerts in Europe (Tickets can be found at See Tickets).
If you catch Russ in concert, check out the jersey he’s wearing as he pays tribute to each city he performs in. Russ has made it a concert ritual to sport a jersey relative to that city – follow Russ’ Instagram to see a collection of these images.
The now 24-year-old hip-hop artist is no stranger to the industry. Russ opened a SoundCloud page in 2014 and it has already reached over 36 million listens. SoundCloud is a global online audio distribution platform that enables users to upload, record, promote, and share originally-created sounds.
Before launching his SoundCloud God status, Russ released 11 albums with critical acclaim and created a musical platform for his works. Russ started writing rhymes in his notebook at the age of seven and then began creating beats when he was 14-years-old. The ambitious hip-hop artist recorded his first song at 18-years-old.
Russ was born in New Jersey and settled into the Atlanta area after bouncing around a bit. In Atlanta, Russ came together with his DIEMON crew – friends Bugus and John Anthony. DIEMON is known for creating notable singles “Goodbye,” “Too Many,” and “Losin Control.”
The acronym DIEMON stands for ‘Do It Every day, Music Or Nothing’. Unlike a lot of Atlanta artists, Russ has a completely different sound that’s not easily categorized into the typical Atlanta vibe – such as Gucci Mane, Ludacris and Young Jeezy.
Unlike a lot of artists, Russ writes his own rap lyrics and produces his music. Russ signed with Columbia Records in June 2016. In an interview with DJ Small Eyez, Russ said he wanted to sign with Columbia because they understood and believed his vision the most. He thought that they were the most polished among the other record label offers that he had received.
Russ went on to say that he was putting out a new song every week before signing with Columbia. He’s openly paid homage to his early musical inspirations listing big names G-Unit, 50 Cent and Eminem.
