Russ

Russ Is Done Saying ‘Too Much’ On His Braggadocios New Single

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Russ is on a roll. After navigating a nasty breakup on track “Bankrupt,” the rapper bounced back to his usual opinion-riddled self with the single, “What Are Yall.” Now, on his new Boi-1da-produced single, “Too Much,” Russ is in rare form.

Co-written by Matthew Samuels, the track gives Russ the floor to be as braggadocios as he wants. The pre-chorus opens with the line, “Sh*t goin’ crazy on the daily / I don’t see a reason why the f*ck I should stop now / Thought I was the sh*t at the bottom / How you think I feel at on top now? Magnificent / Universe wrote my song, I’m just ad-libbing it.” While others believe humility is the key to success, Russ does not. Instead, the stanza highlights his overconfidence throughout the years, manifested in his achievements thus far.

Another notable line in the track is, “Big sh*t poppin’ / I realized I’m the gift, so this year / I ain’t goin’ Christmas shoppin’ / I be hearing ch-ching often.” Despite admitting that he shelled out millions on an Ed Sheeran feature, in this line, the rapper lets everyone know that his money is reserved for him and him only.

Near the end of the track, Russ takes a moment to address the naysayers as he raps, “Fifty-million for the catalog, I turned down / I’m makin’ money every second, you should learn how / These puppies barkin’ at a wolf, why would I turn ’round?”

If you’re looking for a confidence boost, you can live vicariously through Russ and his new song.

Listen to the whole track above.

Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Russ Rewards Himself On His New Single, ‘That Was Me’

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On his new single, “That Was Me,” singer, songwriter, and producer Russ doesn’t shy away from vulnerability. Known for expressing himself vividly in his music and songwriting craft, Russ’ latest cut takes his hallmarked self-awareness to a new level.

Tapping into his emotions, Russ sings “You know that was me who came through when it mattered / You know that was me turnin’ loss into laughter / Divvy up the cash, makin’ sure we all eat / Bring us all together, makin’ sure we all speak,” over a downtempo electronic beat, reflecting on how his need to take care of his family led to depression and alcoholism.

Ahead of “That Was Me,” Russ took to Instagram to share a message with fans.

“I think all of us, especially men, brush things under the rug and ignore the things that are troubling us,” he said. “We’ve been taught that it’s weak to feel. That we should be numb and just keep it pushin. I did that my whole life and the only time I would give anyone a glimpse into what I was feeling was in a 3 minute song. I felt like I was living a double life because in the studio I’d face what I was feeling (sometimes) but outside the studio, I tried to keep a happy exterior because that’s what I thought strength was.”

Check out “That Was Me” above.

Russ Cancels His European Tour After Just One Show For Mental Health Reasons

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Although it looked like Russ was having the time of his life overseas ahead of his The Journey Is Everything world tour, he came with a reminder yesterday that looks can be deceiving and you never know what someone is dealing with behind the scenes. After just one show on the European leg of the tour, Russ announced that he is canceling the remainder of the European tour, which would have included Stockholm, Paris, London, and more. His reasoning: “I feel like sh*t,” he wrote in a post on social media.

I have to cancel the European tour. I could make up excuses so that I don’t lose money but the reality is mentally I feel like shit. In the last 24 hours shit happened that has led to some extremely lonely and empty realizations about things in my family life that have my head feeling like it’s gonna burst. I feel terrible about doing this to my European fans. If you no longer support me after this, I get it. If you don’t believe my reason, I get it. I’ve never had to do this and I feel very defeated but I can’t crash and burn and give y’all shitty performances on the way out. You will be refunded from your point of purchase. I’m very sorry and like I said, the last thing I wanna do is let my fans down which obviously, that’s what I’m doing so any negative feelings any of you end up having towards me, I understand. If this happened during the middle or end of tour I’d probably push through but it happening before the first show, knowing that I gotta go out and give my 100% energy to 24 shows is something I cannot do. I truly don’t expect people to care or to have empathy. Everyone has their own shit they gotta deal with. I just ask y’all to try to understand that maybe you don’t understand…that in it of itself is understanding. I need time to make sense of certain things and for once I need to put myself first. I’m really sorry. I love y’all.

Before canceling the tour, Russ linked up with Ed Sheeran in his “Are You Entertained” video to paint London red, spending a million dollars to promote the single. He also documented a Paris trip in his jet-setting video for “Yes Sir.” However, life comes at you fast, and even stars aren’t immune from heartbreak and poor mental health (this is why I yell at you stans out there so much. Be kind). Here’s hoping Russ gets well soon and can make it up to his European fans at a later date not too far in the future.

Russ Explains How He Spent A Million Dollars On His Ed Sheeran Collab, ‘Are You Entertained’

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As long as he’s been in the rap business, Russ has been about sharing the secrets of his success with fans and other aspiring artists. While that sometimes takes the form of preachy-sounding lectures on social media or interviews that can rub his intended audience the right way, he’s been getting better at softening his delivery, making sure that the message isn’t getting lost in the tone. In addition to starting his own, artist-friendly label, he seems to have found his niche thanks to TikTok, where he can speak directly to his fans, answering their questions in videos that offer more context.

A great example recently found its way to Twitter. In the video, Russ responds to a fan’s comment in a previous video asking how and why he spent $1 million on his new single, “Are You Entertained” with Ed Sheeran. In typical Russ fashion, he goes into detail, but this time, he’s sure he’s giving the right information to the right people, sounding confident instead of condescending. Offering a disclaimer, he made sure to note that “I’ve had songs go multi-platinum that I’ve spent zero dollars on and I’ve had songs do nothing that I’ve spent hundreds of thousands on. It’s not as simple as, ‘Oh, if you just spend money, the song does well.’ If that was the case, then there would be no flops.”

But on to the nitty-gritty: “Basically, I spent about $300K on the music video,” he recalls. “We shot it in London, [so] it was a whole big production. Then, I spent a little over $700K on marketing, which is like: I did Spotify marquee campaigns, radio, social media ads, [and] billboards overseas.” So, there you have it, an explanation of how much it costs to promote a new song, and a warning: It takes a lot more than money. Russ knows this, but luckily for his fans, he wants them to know it too. Check out the video below.

Black Thought & Danger Mouse Take Over The Streets In Their ‘Because’ Video With Joey Badass And Russ

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Black Thought, Danger Mouse, Joey Badass, and Russ take over the streets in the new video for “Because” from Black Thought & Danger Mouse’s upcoming joint project, Cheat Codes, which drops on August 12 on BMG. The trippy visual sees the trio of rappers perform via the massive screens in New York’s Times Square, as well as on the POV character’s phone screen. Indie singer Dylan Cartlidge continues to provide the song’s melodic chorus, while Danger’s presence is constricted to the beat and some extreme closeups on the screens.

Cheat Codes was selected as one of Uproxx’s Most Anticipated Hip-Hop Albums Of Summer 2022, with excitement focused on hearing one of hip-hop’s most gifted and skilled rappers over beats guided by the quirky ear of Danger Mouse, whose previous collaborations include The Mouse and the Mask with the late MF DOOM (as Danger Doom) and ASAP Rocky’s At.Long.Last.ASAP (ALLA). Other guests on the album will include prior Danger Mouse collaborators ASAP Rocky and DOOM, as well as Conway The Machine, Kid Sister, Michael Kiwanuka, Raekwon, and Run The Jewels.

Watch Black Thought & Danger Mouse’s “Because” video featuring Joey Badass, Russ, and Dylan Cartlidge above.

Cheat Codes is out on 8/12 via BMG. Pre-save it here.

Russ Takes The World By Storm In His Jet-Setting ‘Yes Sir’ Video

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Not that long ago, calling Russ an “international star” would have been a stretch, but these days, the New Jersey rapper is getting as comfortable on private planes as he is in the studio. In his jet-setting new video for “Yes Sir,” Russ makes himself at home abroad as he raps in front of French landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe and strolls the streets of foreign cities while making time to take pics with fans of all nationalities before performing in sold-out arenas.

The video is the latest exhibit in Russ’ ongoing case for remaining independent as an artist, which he’s been arguing ever since completing his Columbia Records contract in 2020 (truthfully, even before that). Earlier this month, he even took his message to TMZ Live, calling record labels “obsolete.” Telling his fellow artists “you don’t need them; they’re not doing anything for you that you can’t do for yourself,” he explained why rappers have so much more control over their careers these days.

“Artists in today’s day and age, they’re their own digital marketing,” he said. “I think digital marketing is one of the biggest facades in the music industry. You get with the label and they’re like, ‘Here’s your digital team.’ And it’s like, ‘What do y’all do exactly?’”

Most recently, Russ has popped up on songs with Black Thought and Danger Mouse (“Because” with Joey Badass) and Logic (“Therapy Music“) and launched his own label, so it seems he’s doing something right.

Watch Russ’s “Yes Sir” video above.

Black Thought And Danger Mouse Tap Russ, Joey Badass, And Dylan Cartlidge For The Posse Cut ‘Because’

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Posse cuts tend to come few and far between these days, but when they do, they’re always refreshing. Something about a simple drum pattern, vocal sample, and unbridled spitting just does the beloved Hip-Hop genre justice. Today, Black Thought and Danger Mouse unleashed their latest single “Because” featuring Joey Badass, Russ, and Dylan Cartlidge. Each rapper takes turns doing what they do best, seemingly unphased by the fact they are part of the single that is shorter than a typical song. Who could complain about more bars?

“Because” is the second release from Black Thought and Danger Mouse’s upcoming collaborative project Cheat Codes, a major moment for Danger Mouse who hasn’t maintained much of a presence in the rap space since his Dangerdoom project The Mouse & The Mask with the late MF DOOM from 2006. Mouse hasn’t completely been away from music though, joining up with Karen O for 2019’s Lux Prima. For Black Thought, this follows his Streams Of Thought trilogy which concluded in 2020.

Danger Mouse and Black Thought released their lead single “No Gold Teeth” back in May, kicking off the Cheat Codes rollout which is set to also feature Raekwon, Conway The Machine, A$AP Rocky, Run The Jewels, and more.

Listen to “Because” above.

Cheat Codes is out 08/12 via BMG. Pre-order it here.

Logic’s ‘Vinyl Days’ Tracklist Is A Hefty 30 Songs Long

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It looks like Logic is going to have plenty of new material to perform on his upcoming Vinyl Verse Tour with Wiz Khalifa. In addition to the previously released singles “Therapy Music,” “Orville,” and “Bleed It,” his upcoming album Vinyl Days will host a whopping 30 tracks, closing out his time at Def Jam with one hell of a bang. Seriously, we know albums have been trending longer for the sake of streaming algorithms, but this is either ridiculous or impressive — depending on your opinion of the Maryland rapper.

Among the guests featured on the album are rap legends, contemporary stars, and underground stalwarts, making it one of the most well-rounded representations of the music business today. Action Bronson, AZ, Blu & Exile, Curren$y, DJ Premier, The Game, Langston Bristol, Nezi Momodu, Royce Da 5’9, Russ, RZA, and Wiz Khalifa all make appearances, along with Bobby Boy Records signees iamJMARS, Big Lenbo, and C Dot Castro.

Vinyl Days will be Logic’s seventh album and his first since announcing his “retirement” in 2020 — a retirement he rescinded months just months later with a string of collab tracks alongside Madlib, the single “Vaccine,” and possibly a mixtape as Doctor Destruction, who fans believe was just a barely disguised Logic all along.

Vinyl Days drops 6/17 via Def Jam. Pre-save it here and see the full tracklist below.

1. “Danger”
2. “Tetris”
3. “In My Lifetime” feat. Action Bronson
4. “Decades”
5. “JJ Abrahams (Skit)”
6. “BLACKWHITEBOY”
7. “Quasi”
8. “Bleed It”
9. “LaDonda”
10. “Aaron Judge”
11. “Clouds” feat. Langston Bristol & Curren$y
12. “Michael Rap (Skit)”
13. “Therapy Music” feat. Russ
14. “Tony Revolori (Skit)”
15. “Rogue One”
16. “Breath Control” feat. Wiz Khalifa
17. “NEMS (Skit)”
18. “Nardwuar” feat. Doc D
19. “KickStyle” feat. iamJMARS, Big Lenbo & C Dot Castro
20. “EarlyBird (Skit)”
21. “Ten Years’” feat. Royce 5’9”
22. “Porta One” feat. RZA
23. “NeedleDrop (Skit)”
24. “Introducing Nezi” feat. Nezi Momodu
25. “Orville” feat. Like, Blu & Exile
26. “Carnival” feat. AZ
27. “Lena’s Insight (Skit)”
28. “Vinyl Days” feat. DJ Premier
29. “I Guess I Love It” feat. The Game
30. “Sayonara”