Russell James Vitale was born on September 26, 1992, in Secaucus, New Jersey.[1] Vitale was born into an American family with Sicilian ancestry, which included him and three other siblings.[13] He lived in North Carolina and Kentucky in his childhood due to his father having to constantly relocate due to his career, before his family found a permanent home during his late teenage years in Atlanta, Georgia.[14] Vitale was taught to play guitar by his father, and over the years gradually learned how to play several instruments.[15] He started writing raps in his notebook at 7 years old. He started making beats when he was 14 and was initially producing with his friend Bugus.[16][17] He recorded his first song at 18 years old and continued making beats and producing songs in the basement of Colm Dillane's KidSuper.[18][19][20]
Career
In 2011, Russ, alongside friend and fellow rapper Bugus, appeared on MTV after Bugus' song "El Jefe" gained traction.[16] After his short enrollment in Kennesaw State University, Russ co-founded his own collective and label, Diemon, with Bugus and others.[15] In a 2012 article on Jenesis Magazine, Russ was described as an in-house producer for Diemon.[21]
From December 2011 to August 2014, Russ released 11 albums and 87 singles consecutively; all free of charge.[1] Despite this, his music had not gained the attention that he wanted, so he began to release a song every week on SoundCloud for almost three years.[22] Two of these songs, "What They Want" and "Losin Control", eventually peaked at number 83 and number 62 on the US Billboard Hot 100, respectively.[23][24][7]
Russ released his thirteenth studio album, Zoo, on September 7, 2018, which peaked at number 4 on the Billboard 200.[30] On November 12, 2019, Russ published his first book, It's All in Your Head.[31] On January 31, 2020, he released his fourteenth studio album, Shake the Snow Globe, on Russ My Way Inc. and Columbia Records.[32] It peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard 200.[33]
The first book authored by Russ, It's All in Your Head, was published in 2019 and went on to be a bestseller.[34]
On June 30, 2020, Russ announced that he completed his deal with Columbia Records and is now an independent artist.[35] On November 17, 2020, he released an EP titled Chomp. It features guest appearances from Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, Benny the Butcher, and Ab-Soul, among others.[36]
On November 18, 2021, Russ announced a new EP, Chomp 2, as the sequel to last year’s Chomp. The project was released on December 8, 2021, under Russ My Way Inc.[37]
On August 18, 2023, Russ released the album Santiago.[38] It went on to peak at 12 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[39]
On January 10th, 2024, he published the sequel to his first book It Was You All Along.[40] Later that year, he made his film debut, appearing as Parker Wayne in the M. Night Shyamalan thriller, Trap.[41]
Musical style and influences
Russ's early inspirations were G-Unit, 50 Cent, and Eminem.[19][42] He produced beats for around six years before he attempted to record himself rapping.[43] Russ is known for his songs being produced, mixed, mastered, engineered, written, and performed by himself.[44] Most of his songs contain hip hop and R&B elements, while combining rapping and singing on the hook. His style has been described by Uproxx as a "raspy, hardbody rap flow, and lilting, almost drunken singing voice".[45]
Controversy
On September 11, 2017, after a show, Russ tweeted a picture depicting him in a shirt with writing on it that said: "How much xans and lean do you have to do before you realize you're a fucking loser".[46] The tweet caused controversy, and led to numerous responses from other music artists. Late Chicago rapper Fredo Santana responded to the tweet, stating: "Until I can stop thinking bout my dead homies an the trauma I been thru in my life that's when I'll stop".[46]
Following the controversy, the phrase "fuck Russ" became a commonly referenced phrase and meme. On June 6, 2018, after rappers Lil Pump and J. Cole settled their issues in an interview, Lil Pump tweeted "ME & J COLE COOL NOW SO NOW ITS FUCK RUSS".[47]
Personal life
Russ has two different eye colors, a condition known as heterochromia; his left eye is dark brown, and his right is light brown.[19]
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