Russ is running up a serious check these days.
On Wednesday (March 3), the Chomp artist shared on Twitter an inspirational story about his monetary momentum, claiming that he's made $10 million from his independent catalog. The rapper, who was still signed to Columbia Records as of last year and has released the Chomp EP via his Russ My Way imprint, is among very few artists in the rap game that have had success as an independent artist.
"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."
Russ added that an optimistic outlook is what helped drive him. "Ran up $10 million off the independent catalog alone (No Traw, Zoo, Shake the Snow Globe)," he posted, omitting his major label albums from the equation. "I remember making $1,000 and thinking 'If I can make $1,000 then I can make $10,000. If I can make $10,000 I can make $100,000' ETC. Reality is, this is just a lot of time and effort mixed with consistency and meaningful relationship with fans from all over the world. Lowkey fuck the money even tho I'm hella grateful. I'm just glad y'all [fuck with] the message and the music. See y'all at $50 mil."
Very few artists in the rap game have had as much independent success as Russ,
who formed a solid following with nearly a dozen indie mixtapes and a unique Soundcloud strategy, which saw him drop a single a week for consecutive years. Since 2011, when he first started releasing projects, the formula has paid off.
Russ released 11 mixtapes between 2011 and 2014, on his own. He signed a multimillion dollar record deal partnership with Columbia in 2017, and released three albums—There's Really a Wolf (2017), Zoo (2018), Shake the Snow Globe (2020)—before returning to indie status. He released the EP, Chomp, last November featuring Benny The Butcher, Busta Rhymes, Black Thought, Ab-Soul and more.
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