Artist description A gumbo pot hip-hop mix of southern vocals, poetic lyricism, all or most coast production, and down to earth versatility.

Music Style hip hop/spoken word/southern rap

Musical Influences Outkast, 2Pac, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Public Enemy, Scarface, Del the Funky Homosapien

Similar Artists Dre from Outkast, Lincoln Park,

Artist History Russ began rapping when he was 7 years old, back in 1988. Having been a poet two years earlier, Russ simply began turning his poems into battle raps. After moving from Houston to Bryan, Texas at age 11, he began freestyling any and every opponent he could find. The only person to ever beat him, eventually became his producer. In eighth grade Russ laid down a two track demo, learning young to feel comfortable in a studio. At Bryan High School as a teenager, he began performing at concerts, and talent shows. This led to doing commercials for the local radio station, where he would write and perform raps advertising local restaurants. After coming to California for College in 1998 Russ performed whenever he had a chance. Several producers showed interest but the production never seemed to be tight enough. Finally in December of 2001, Russ hooked backed up with his old friend from Junior High and High School with whom he would often freestyle. KG, armed with a Trinity Korg keyboard, and a VS-880 mixer, set out to produce RUSS. With no place to record, they used Russ's best friend J-Rock's barn in the middle of the country. In a place with no lights, and no heat, Russ wrote rhymes on a tractor, and KG played the keyboard with gloves and a blanket keeping him from freezing. They recorded by lantern light until they had enough tracks for an LP. The result of those three days in the barn is Russ's first full length album, Chronicles Of A Southern Poet, and a career that is no doubt on the rise. He has performed his Spoken Word at the World Famous Comedy Store for the last 5 months, and has performed at Cal State Los Angeles, and Cal Lutheran University. For more information on upcoming gigs in the Southern California area, email him at funkyruss@hotmail.com.

Group Members written and performed by: RUSS production and background vocals by: KG

Albums Chronicles Of A Southern Poet

Location Bryan, TX - USA

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