Russ

Russ Shares His Business Advice For Rap Peers Like Big Sean And Wale

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Over the past few years, more rappers than ever have shared their discontent with the modern label system. Most recently, Big Sean pointed out that Kanye apparently still owes him quite a bit from his GOOD Music days, Meek Mill demanded more transparency in the music industry, and Wale explained why he left Roc Nation early in his career. Through all those revelations, one artist has remained steadfast in his belief in his independent hustle — and outspoken in sharing his advice for industry peers.

Russ, who is currently doing promotion for his newly released mixtape Chomp 2, stopped by The Breakfast Club and explained how he financed the new project by taking out a bank loan rather than signing with a label. Using Wale’s 2019 single “On Chill” as an example, he explained how he would go about opening a line of credit to support the track. “Let’s say it’s $250,000… Guess what you can go do. Go get a line of credit… I don’t wanna play with my own money. Even though an advance, they give you a million dollars and spend money at radio, that still ends up being your money. If I get a line of credit from the bank… it’s about time value of money.”

“So with Chomp 2,” he continued. “I have millions of dollars in the bank, I could fund it myself. Why? … Everything on Chomp 2, I’m using the line of credit. I could pay $1,000 for the rest of my life. If the issue is upfront cash… A bank will give y’all millions of dollars.”

Of course, some folks on Twitter pointed out that not everybody has this particular set of options, but Russ was adamant his point was in pursuing alternative funding and maintaining ownership of publishing rights and his music career. Check out some of the reactions to Russ’ advice and his responses below.

Russ’ ‘Chomp 2’ Prepares For Lyrical Warfare With Help From Jadakiss, Wale, Joey Badass, And More

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Russ 2021 Sacramento concert
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Russ rarely takes a break when it comes to releasing music, and after a streak of dropping singles that began over the summer, he’s prepared to end the year on a high note with a brand new album. Russ will drop Chomp 2 on Wednesday, December 8, and hours before he releases it, he shared the tracklist and features. The full-length effort will see contributions from Jadakiss, Snoop Dogg, Jay Electronica, The Game, Big Sean, Wale, Joey Badass, Styles P, Westside Gunn, Lloyd Banks, Ghostface Killah, Papoose, Big K.R.I.T., Ranson, DJ Premier, Hit-Boy, Mozzy, CyHi The Prynce, and more.

Chomp 2 also offers an impressive cast of producers, including 9th Wonder, Hary Fraud, DJ Premier, Hit-Boy, The Alchemist, Statik Selektah, Boi-1da, Bink!

The album comes a year after he released its predecessor. The first Chomp is much shorter, clocking in at six songs and with features from Ab-Soul, Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, Kxng Crooked, Benny The Butcher, and DJ Premier.

Chomp 2 will join a strong cast of singles Russ has released in 2021. They include “On The Way,” “Satisfy,” “Lucky,” “Private,” and “Status.” He’s also worked with Lil Baby and Blxst in addition to teasing a potential joint album with Kehlani.

You can view the tracklist for Chomp 2 in the post above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kehlani And Russ Tease Fans With An Possible Joint Album

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In 2020, Kehlani and Russ both took big steps in their careers. Kehlani dropped her second album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, which proved one of the most popular R&B projects of 2021. Russ, on the other hand, sharpened his artistry with Shake The Snow Globe. Now it looks like they may bless their respective fan bases with a collaborative album, which they teased on social media.

Kehlani kicked things off with a video of her and Russ at a party with the caption “a mixtape or ? @russ.” Afterward, a Kehlani fan page reposted the video on their Twitter account with the caption “MAKE IT HAPPEN. @Kehlani x @russdiemon via Kehlani IG Stories.” Russ responded, “Russ x Kehlani project [eye emoji].”

The upcoming project would not be the first time two have worked together. Last summer, they teamed up on “Take You Back” collaboration and its elegant music video. Until the potential project’s arrival, fans can keep an eye open for Kehlani’s upcoming third album, Blue Water Road as well as additional singles from Russ, who’s dropped a new song on a weekly basis since the beginning of May.

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

Russ’ ‘On The Way’ Is A Timid, Brief Account Of His Strive Towards Success

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Earlier this year, Russ promised fans that he would drop a new song on a weekly basis for the foreseeable future. It’s an act that the singer did earlier in his career to bring attention and familiarity to his name, and with all the success he’s accumulated up until today, it’s clear that it worked for him. With that being said, it’s no surprise that the Atlanta native went back to it after the strong 2020 he had. His latest release is “On The Way,” a timid, brief track that finds him emphasizing his tunnel vision approach towards life to his family, friends, and women he frequents himself with.

While 2021 might the year of singles for Russ, 2020 was focused on projects. He kicked things off with his third album, Shake The Snow Globe, a 14-track effort that saw contributions from Benny The Butcher, Rick Ross, Bia, and more. He later served up a deluxe reissue for the project with eight new songs and help from Ty Dolla Sign and Westside Boogie. To close off the year, he returned with Chomp, a 6-track EP that saw him stand beside some of the best lyrical talents the music industry has to offer. This includes Ab-Soul, Benny The Butcher, Kxng Crooked, and more.

On a more recent note, Russ has dropped numerous singles that include “Satisfy,” “Lucky,” “Private,” “Status,” and “Small Talk.”

You can listen to the new song in the video above.

Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Russ Promises To ‘Satisfy’ A Lover On A Tongue-In-Cheek Ballad

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Indie rap stalwart Russ’s new single “Satisfy” sounds like it should be a love song, with its tender guitar chords and downtempo crooning. In reality, though, it’s more of a sex anthem, featuring explicit lyrics right out of an adult video description. The contrast more amusingly cheeky than it is sensuous, but with Russ, the distinction between the two moods has always been more of a suggestion than a hard line in the sand. The video accompanying the single throws soft lighting across the outspoken artist as he performs in what looks like a cave.

Russ’s raunchy descriptions of his sexual activities may read more like a sext than a hit single, but as he’s been on an emotional roll lately, his shift into slightly porn-y subject matter might come as a welcome turn. Prior New Music Friday releases have included much more serious material like the hopeful “Lucky,” the romantic duet “Private” with Rexx Life Raj, and the melancholy “Bankrupt,” so it’s nice to hear him nodding to the more — ahem — enjoyable aspects of relationships. Still, another boastful track like “Ugly” with Lil Baby or “Status” probably wouldn’t go amiss in future weeks. With Russ, all possibilities are on the table, a testament to his versatility and willingness to push himself.

Watch Russ’s “Satisfy” video above.

Russ Rolls The Dice, Hoping To Get ‘Lucky’ In Love

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Russ takes a hard right turn on his latest loose single, “Lucky,” moving away from the moody sounds of his prior efforts this year like “Bankrupt,” “Private,” and “Status,” and even departing from more braggadocious fare like “Ugly” and “Small Talk.” Instead, he picks an uptempo, dancey instrumental with a four-on-the-floor beat to sing the praises of his latest paramour. He opens the track crooning about just how lucky he is, before switching to a quick-step rap cadence suggesting all the thrills he has planned for his romantic partner.

Commenting on the track’s YouTube stream, Russ thanked fans for supporting him, even on left-field departures like “Lucky.” “Thank you to all of you forreal!” he wrote. “I just like making whatever I’m feeling at the moment..it’s therapeutic for me so for y’all to get somethin from the music too means a lot.”

The New Jersey rapper-singer’s near-constant stream of new music is one of the reasons he called his career “pandemic-proof” last year as he continued to advocate for artist ownership. Of course, it probably helps that in addition to his music, he’s got multiple other streams of revenue, including his recently launched strain of cannabis, which he called the “best studio weed.”

Listen to “Lucky” above.

Russ Reunites With Rexx Life Raj On The Romantic Duet, ‘Private’

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Over the years, Russ and Rexx Life Raj have developed an easygoing and prolific creative chemistry, with Rexx appearing on Russ’s “On 10” and Russ returning the favor to appear on Rexx’s Father Figure 3 track “Falling.” Now, it’s back to Russ on the newly released “Private,” which Russ initially planned to release back in 2019 or 2020. However, the breakout success of his song “Best On Earth” with Bia — which caught the attention of Rihanna, among others — meant pivoting to work that record instead. Fortunately, as an independent artist, Russ is completely in control of his own release schedule.

The previously shelved song has a light melody, employing soft organs and keys as the backdrop for a romantic entreaty on which Russ raps and Raj sings, wisely splitting their shared talents between them to avoid cluttering up the track. It works as their prior collaborations have because it plays to both artists’ major strength: Emotive storytelling that doesn’t feel forced or corny — as seen on Russ tracks like “Hard For Me” and “Bankrupt” and Rexx Life singles “Built For Everything” and “Your Way” with Kehlani.

While Russ hasn’t mentioned any new projects in the works, he’s clearly got a backlog of strong songs just waiting for a home — even if he’s never truly embraced a traditional release format. Meanwhile, Rexx just released a three-song set of his own, which you can check out here.

Listen to “Private” above.

Russ is dropping a new song every single week

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New Jersey rapper Russ is on his grind time. The hip-hop star pulls through this week with his new “Status” banger and vows to keep the new audio heat going through all summer. Russ is dropping a new song every week The new must-hear anthem follows his Lil Baby-featured “Ugly” and Kehlani-assisted “Take You Back” […]

The post Russ is dropping a new song every single week appeared first on SOHH.com.

Russ Keeps Things Nonchalant Despite His Rap ‘Status’ On His New Single

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If you’re a fan of Russ, I have some great news for you. The Atlanta-bred rapper is back to releasing a new song every week for his supporters, something he did early in his career to help him reach the breakout moment he arrived at in 2015. Russ shared that the weekly releases would be returning last week in a tweet writing, “DROPPIN A SONG A WEEK AND IGNORING EVERYBODY.” Now, for its second installment, he shares his latest single, “Status.” The new effort sees Russ cruising through bars about women, friends who doubted him, and his growing popularity all while keeping his emotions in a nonchalant state.

Russ’ latest drop comes after he kicked off his return last week with “Small Talk.” That track brought plenty of energy from Russ as he declared no interest in small talk when there’s business to be taken care of. While the two tracks signal a consistent return to music, they aren’t the first piece of music Russ has delivered in 2021. Prior to that, he dropped a number of singles which include “Ugly” with Lil Baby, “Bankrupt,” “Misunderstood,” and “Hard For Me.”

As for fans who might be interested in a new project from Russ, they may have to wait a bit as he delivered two of them in 2020 with Shake The Snow Globe and Chomp, which should be enough to keep listeners satisfied when paired with the new singles.

Press play on the new track in the video above.