A couple of months ago, I got the opportunity to talk to Bay Area rapper LaRussell about what it really takes to be a successful independent artist in the music industry. He said, “I make good dope, and as long as you do dope, you’re going to come to me for it.”
It looks like that philosophy has paid off, as he made his debut today on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts series, performing a massive medley of fan-favorite songs from his massive — and growing — discography of self-released jams.
Cramming his band and backup singers in the titular space, Russ runs the gamut of hip-hop staples, from a timely message song in mellow opener “Glory” to his trademark collection of post-hyphy bangers like “GIVE ME A BEAT!” and “10s, 20s, 50s, 100s.” Through it all, he and his compatriots encourage the NPR office — and those viewers at home — to join them in exuberant dancing to express their joy and pain.
In Uproxx’s August interview with LaRussell, he explained how his commitment to consistency helped him reach this point. “You start with one, one turn to two, two turn to four, four turn to eight, eight turn to 16, 16 turn to 32, 32 turn 64,” he said. “And we just embraced that process the entire time. I’m never really trying to win people who don’t f*ck with me. I over-deliver to the people who love me, and they go tell everybody else.”
You can watch LaRussell’s Tiny Desk Concert above and make sure you tell everybody else.
