Posted by Being an independent rapper in Hip Hop is a lane not meant for the weak-hearted. There’s no help coming from a major label, so an artist has to dig into his pockets to fund and distribute their music. One rapper who has mastered the indy market is Russ.
On Wednesday (March 3), Russ took to Twitter to share two images that reflect on the success he’s been seeing since going independent last June. The first image shows Russ has earned a whopping $10,003,878.42 by handling his music independently.
“Ever since shit started ‘working’ for me with this music shit I often think about ‘damn, what if I woulda stopped after those 11 mixtapes,’” Russ tweeted. “Can’t lose if you don’t quit. If it’s your truth, keep goin regardless of wtf people are sayin.”
Ever since shit started “working” for me with this music shit I often think about “damn, what if I woulda stopped after those 11 mixtapes?”
Can’t lose if you don’t quit. If it’s your truth, keep goin regardless of wtf people are sayin ???? pic.twitter.com/N1dCxOt3rd
— RUSS (@russdiemon) March 3, 2021
In the second photo, Russ had a deeper reflection on his independent journey. After making his first $1,000 check, the 28-year-old challenged himself to make more money each time out, and he did. He also stressed it wouldn’t have been possible without consistency and determination. The next goal the New Jersey-bred rapper has his eyes set on is a hefty $50 million.
In November, Russ did something similar when he tweeted how much money he makes as an independent artist.
Russ Claims He Makes Over $100K A Week As An Independent Artist
In the tweet, Russ wrote, “Some weekly checks on tunecore..inspo purposes only artists : own your music and stop letting these labels take 15% distribution fees for pressing an upload button.”
some weekly checks on tunecore..inspo purposes only
artists : own your music and stop letting these labels take 15% distribution fees for pressing an upload button pic.twitter.com/eQHRRtXLdO
— RUSS (@russdiemon) November 9, 2020
The trolls came out to ridicule Russ on DJ Akademiks’ Instagram post speaking on the situation. The Shake The Snow Globe rapper chimed in the comments to back up his reasoning for posting the earnings in his tweet.
“If you’re not an artist you shouldn’t gaf lol this isn’t for you. But all my fellow artists out there, don’t let labels rob you blind with outdated industry standards,” he wrote.