Despite recent hate Russ has been getting on Twitter, especially since the passing of XXXtentacion when on user asked for X to come back to life only take Russ instead, the New Jersey homie is still offering out good advice for upcoming artists. Being as Russ is the prime example of self-made, as in he writes, mixes, engineers and produces his own work, as well as handling most of his tours, he's learned a few major things along the way and he's sharing them on Twitter.
His first tweet offers sound advice for homies before they even consider talking to any labels. "Artists: make sure you have an independent catalog that no one except the government touches (taxes) prior to even talkin to labels. There’s tons of money in music, y’all just gotta own your shit."
His next set of advice is about really being serious with your craft and knowing that business is always business and don't always expect a fair deal. "You gotta self educate as much as possible on whatever your craft is," he tweets. "Can’t assume people are gonna be good and treat you “fair”. It’s business. Educate yourself and know wtf you’re getting yourself into. Shit still might fuck up but prepare yourself as much as possible on ur own."
And lastly, create your catalogue first. "f you’re making songs in your basement and not putting absolutely everything you do up on all the streaming services etc, you’re playing yourself and have no one to blame but yourself. Create a vast independent catalog, THEN talk to labels. Keep your catalog separate."
Check out even more advice below.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1011709203512209408
https://twitter.com/_/status/1011710932467224576
https://twitter.com/_/status/1011712783145201664
https://twitter.com/_/status/1011713019565494274
https://twitter.com/_/status/1011713816365862913
https://twitter.com/_/status/1011714835053236225