Russ

Russ’ New Single Is Here To “PUT YOU ON GAME”

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Last year saw no shortage of new music from Russ. In the early months of 2022, he kept his fans going with singles like “Remember” and “HANDSOMER” (not to mention its subsequent remixes), as well as “Real” and “WHAT ARE YALL.”

By April, he was ready to give the world an EP. It came in the form of If Not Now, When? and more releases came quickly after. “Therapy Music” with Logic and “Are You Entertained” alongside Ed Sheeran are just two of the noteworthy collaborations that followed.

Rapper Russ performs onstage during the Day N Night Festival at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 10, 2017 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)

Finally, Russ closed out 2022 with “Home,” on which he reflects on returning from a long venture on the road. He took some time to celebrate the holidays amongst good company, but now he’s ready to “PUT YOU ON GAME” with his new single.

The rapper’s first song of the year arrived earlier today (January 6). Across his lyrics, the New Jersey native markedly offers advice. Specifically, he tells listeners how to maintain their peace of mind in our undeniably chaotic world.

“Don’t listen to people who lose, or you’ll do the same / Stop talkin’ to people who don’t give a fuck what you say,” he suggests on the chorus. “Stop spendin’ your money on weed, go hop on a plane / Stop pointin’ the finger and start takin’ some of the blame.”

Stream Russ’ “PUT YOU ON GAME” on Spotify or Apple Music below. Make sure to check back later this weekend to find more new releases on our weekly Fire Emoji and R&B Season playlist updates.

Quotable Lyrics:

Control your emotions, most of the time it’s really not worth it
Do not be ashamed, beat yourself up, for not bein’ perfect
Don’t be entitled, the world doesn’t care if you think you deserve it
Don’t fall in love with someone ’til you know what’s beneath the surface

[Via]

Russ Offers His Fans Some Advice On His New Single, ‘Put You On Game’

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Russ is kicking off the year making note of some changes he’s making, in hopes that his fans will follow suit.. For those who are committed to their resolutions, the rapper/singer/producer has shared some advice. On his latest single, “Put You On Game,” Russ urges the listeners to pick up new habits and to practice accountability.

“Lemme put you on game / Don’t listen to people who lose, or you’ll do the same / Stop talkin’ to people who don’t give a f*ck what you say / Stop spendin’ your money on weed, go hop on a plane / Stop pointin’ the finger and start takin’ some of the blame,” he rap-sings over a drum-and-violin driven beat.

Elsewhere in the song, he notes the importance of letting our loved ones know how much they mean.

“Call up your mom, tell her you love her before it’s too late / Call up your dad, tell him you love him before it’s too late,” he raps.

In an Instagram post, Russ revealed that the song turned around rather quickly.

“From inception to release date in 24 hours,” he said in the post’s caption. “Freedom is priceless,” alluding to his independence as an artist.

Check out “Put You On Game” above.

Russ Takes Us “Home” On His Latest Release: Stream

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It’s been a busy few weekends for new music, and that trend is only continuing into the last few weeks of the year. This Friday (December 16) hip-hop heads were most excited about albums from Young Dolph and Ab-Soul. For singles, though, many have been showing love to arrivals from artists like Central Cee, Latto, and Russ.

The New Jersey native is no stranger to feeding his fans consistent music. On the 9th of this month, he came through with “Too Much,” on which he reflected on a $50 million offer he received in exchange for his music catalogue. Following that, the lyricist is taking us “Home” on his latest single.

As Rap Radar notes, the two-minute and 39-second long song boasts production by Lucas Quinn. Throughout his verses, Russ reflects on the joys of returning back to his bed after a long stint on the road.

Of course, being a working musician is a dream for many. However, constantly travelling and having to perform as the best version of yourself isn’t an easy feat by any means.

“I missed her so much that I made her Mrs. / Feel like I hit the lottery win, when I saved the digits,” his voice croons on the first verse. “I paid her visits, nah Im lyin’, she always came to me / I was a player, but I changed, this is no game to me.”

Previously this fall we heard from the 30-year-old on tracks like “Inside” and “BET.”

Stream Russ’ “Home” single on Spotify or Apple Music below. Afterward, revisit his recent “Too Much” single here.

Quotable Lyrics:

I missed her so much that I made her Mrs.
Feel like I hit the lottery win, when I saved the digits
I paid her visits, nah Im lyin’, she always came to me
I was a player, but I changed, this is no game to me

[Via]

Ab-Soul, Russ, & Big Sean “GO OFF” On Our Latest “Fire Emoji” Update

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Christmas is rapidly approaching. However, before they settle in for the holidays, some of your favourite artists continue to share new music. Surprisingly, December has seen some strong contenders for AOTY, namely from entertainers like Metro Boomin and SZA. This past Friday (December 16), even more heat arrived, aptly adding to the already impressive roster you’ll find on our Fire Emoji playlist.

Of this weekend’s many albums, arguably the most highly anticipated comes from Ab-Soul. The TDE artist dropped off HERBERT yesterday. It came along with an admission that he survived a suicide attempt during the project’s recording process.

Titles we’ve picked from the record include “GO OFF” with Russ and Big Sean, as well as “FOMF.” Additionally, “GOODMAN” with Punch, “NO REPORT CARD,” and “GOTTA RAP” are receiving plenty of love.

Another big release in the hip-hop world was Young Dolph’s posthumous album, Paper Route Frank. The entire thing is obviously worth a listen, though the title you’ll find on our Fire Emoji roundup is “Thats How” with Key Glock.

After that, we wear from Lil Durk and Future’s “Mad Max.” The superstar dup collaborated on the track for the former’s Only The Family – Lil Durk Presents: Loyal Bros 2 compilation project.

Other guest appearances on the 23-song-long tracklist come from Kodak Black, King Von, Icewear Vezzo, and Trippie Redd, just to name a few.

On The Alchemist Sandwich the renowned producer connected with several noteworthy artists. Of the 10-track project’s two new titles, we’ve selected “Clip In A Tray” as the more Fire Emoji-worthy.

NBA YoungBoy is continuing his tradition of being one of the most consistently releasing rappers in the game. This weekend, he connected with D-ROK on “Military” for Rich Gang.

Our final new title is a collaborative effort from Chief Keef and Wiz Khalifa – “Rider.”

Stream our latest Fire Emoji update exclusively on Spotify below. Afterward, let us know what new additions are your favourite in the comments.

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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russ million
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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.