LaRussell (IG: @larussell) is a legendary independent rapper & artist hailing from Vallejo, California. He began to rap at the age of eight and found his early education to be uninspiring. He was subsequently enrolled at Vallejo's Peoples' High School, where he blossomed in comparison. Upon graduating, he became afather to a baby girl, causing any tentative hope of a music career to be puton ice. Needing to provide for his daughter, he took a well-paying job at an aerospace company where he remained for six years before deciding to quit to pursue full-time involvement in the music business.
He ushered in a bold newbusiness model called “Proud to Pay” where he lets fans set their own price forhis music, shows, and even local cook outs in Vallejo, adopting the slogan forthe movement… “it’s not free, it's priceless!” He established the independent music collective, “Good Compenny,” and is pioneering positive change within theindustry. Good Compenny supports independent artists without requiring them to give up ownership of their art. LaRussell’s output of quality content is truly jaw dropping, releasing 24 full length albums since 2019… 7 of these albums were released in 2023 alone. LaRussell has garnered praise from some of the most influential figures in all of music including Charlamagne Tha God, Wallo, Chance The Rapper, Russ, Meek Mill, LA Reid, Erykah Badu, and many more.
Therapy for Artists: https://calendly.com/connectionismagic
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS //
+ How to navigate between our innate need to belong / fit inand instead choose to stand out when we feel different from the pack
+ “There’s people who spend time talking about doing things,and there are people who spend time doing things” – LaRussell
+ People will box us in to what they believe we are whichworks against our need to evolve
+ Why record labels will invest in whack artists who havemillions of views vs. investing in dope artists who don’t yet have a following
+ Discussing where LaRussell’s wisdom comes from at such ayoung age
+ If you live your life not trusting other people you willmanifest meeting more untrustworthy people
+ The more shots you take the better you become; peopleblock their development by worrying too much about what other people think
+ People need to be honest with themselves and just say theydon’t actually want what they say they do if they’re not putting in consistentwork to achieve it
+ We discuss the Kanye West lyric from the song “Spaceship” ... “Lock yourself in a room doin’ 5 beats a day for 3 summers that’s a differentworld like three summers I deserve to do these numbers!”
+ How to deal with haters online who don’t even know you:“If you have a problem with me text me, if you don’t have my number then youdon’t know me well enough to have a problem with me.”
+ Why labels get behind toxic music vs. morepositive/nourishing music
+ Why LaRussell calls his company “GOODCOMPENNY”
+ Surreal moment of meeting Diddy and how that meeting impactedhim
+ Learning to work efficiently on a team and how we can keepour egos in check so that we can all fly higher and win more
