Rapper Russ On Why Working With TuneCore Has Been a ‘Lifesaver’ — And Lucrative

Russ discovered TuneCore by accident: Nearly 15 years ago, he watched his close friend, the rapper Bugus, Google “How do I get my song on iTunes,” and it led him to the New York-based distribution, publishing and music licensing service. Today, Russ is the face of TuneCore — and a blueprint for independent artists looking to play in the big leagues.

“I was getting 20 cents a month [from my music] in 2011,” he recalls while sitting outside his Atlanta home. “TuneCore was a lifesaver… As streaming started to take over and my music started to gain more traction, TuneCore was paying the bills. It was how I was able to take care of my family when s–t went left.”

These days, the 32-year-old rapper is cashing six-figure checks every week from TuneCore — and he isn’t afraid to show off the impressive receipts on social media. “This is what it looks like when you own your music and you have an extensive catalog and you’re distributing it independently,” he boasts.

While rap’s mainstream has never embraced Russ or bestowed him glossy awards and accolades, he has still managed to build a successful and lucrative career with a rabid fan base. And his numbers can’t be denied: According to the RIAA, the New Jersey-born rhymer passed 35 million units sold earlier this year. In 2022, he became the first solo rapper to perform at the pyramids of Giza.

“I think it’s a testament to having an extensive catalog and having a loyal audience, [and] the music being timeless,” he says. “I try to tell artists you don’t have to try to get a song that immediately takes off. I have damn near 500 songs out and I think three of them have.”

Russ, whose next project, W!LD, will drop June 27 (an accompanying headlining tour with Big Sean opening is planned), has bucked ­plenty of music industry conventions on his way to stardom. He believes in flooding the market and has often spent monthslong stretches releasing singles rather than stockpiling them for albums and their corresponding cycles.

“The reason I’m not a big believer in the traditional way of putting out music is because it puts too much pressure on you,” he explains of his singles-based strategy, even if he admits “the album is still God.”

“When you’re putting out a song a month, you move on pretty quickly,” he continues. “It’s good spiritually. Just put the s–t out and give yourself a chance to be discovered.”

When you think about your journey to selling 35 million units, what runs through your head?

Just build a catalog that your fans can live with over the course of time. I think that’s what my catalog has done. It’s songs about my life, and fans have incorporated them into their lives. Maybe it didn’t go platinum in the first year, but over time, people keep listening to the s–t.

What advice do you have for indie artists today?

Stay in the studio and perfect your craft. Stock up on as many great songs as possible, put them out consistently and detach from the results. The traditional way of putting out music puts too much pressure on you. If you do the whole “I take two years off and I come back with a 13-song album,” that shit better be it. You take two years off and you come back with 13 songs and it doesn’t even resonate, it’s like, “Now what?”

It’s crazy that 2017’s There’s Really a Wolf, the first of three albums you released while you were signed to Columbia, is the first platinum album to be completely written, mixed, mastered, recorded and arranged by one person. What does that represent for you?

It’s a constant reminder that I’m enough. No matter what, I know I can do all this s–t when it comes to the music-making process and reach the mountaintop. A platinum album is still the pinnacle of success, as far as a metric in the music business. Knowing I can sit in the studio, make all the beats, mix it, master it, write everything, put it out and it goes platinum is a big confidence boost. I know that the reason I have the fans I do is because of me and my taste. It’s a reminder that people f–k with me for me.

What can you tell us about your new album, W!LD?

It’s my favorite offering of music. It has my favorite elements of all my albums: the depth and introspection of Santiago, the sonic freedom and versatility of There’s Really a Wolf, the grit that Zoo has and the bars that Chomp has. It’s me at my best.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I think in 10 years, I’m going to be primarily acting. I got a movie coming out [Don’t Move will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September]. I really love acting … it’s a different level of community I don’t get from music. [I don’t think I’ll be] touring nearly as much [but] still putting out music. It’s probably going to go to that traditional place where it’s like you don’t hear from me musically for two years and then I drop an album. Knowing me, I’ll just be putting out songs randomly and it will lead to an album.

This story appears in the June 7, 2025, issue of Billboard.