Independent Rapper Larussell Has Made Millions By Allowing His Fans To Set The Prices

Packed into a gritty, bare-bones euphony venue connected nan separator of Williamsburg successful Brooklyn, New York, connected a Sunday successful July, astir 500 fans of Bay Area rapper LaRussell were taken to church. Except location was nary pastor aliases choir and nary pews. Instead it was a 2 p.m. show for independent creator LaRussell, spreading his ain gospel done catchy creation euphony and clever wordplay.

“Brooklyn, I’m ho-ome,” LaRussell exclaimed pinch his unique West Coast flare.

And while a midday hip-hop show whitethorn look unusual, it reflects LaRussell’s attack — doing things his measurement and allowing others to adapt.

“You cultivate a wholly different experience,” LaRussell said up of nan performance. “I person each property location from 1 to 100. Granny not coming retired astatine 10 p.m., and you don’t want nan small homies retired astatine 10 p.m. ”

The “Give Me a Beat” artist’s playful, community-centered attack to his creation — and business — has fans coming to shows again and again, paying for his music, and moreover bidding for his time. And nan millions upon millions of streams connected euphony platforms travel without nan backing of a grounds label.

Instead, LaRussell and his mini squad grip everything connected their own: uploading songs to streamers, booking shows that they group up and tear down, societal media promotion and moreover trading merch astatine events. Emailing nan rapper’s guidance often yields a consequence from LaRussell himself. He said this measurement of operating comes from years of making thing retired of nothing.“I wasn’t independent because I didn’t want to motion and I didn’t for illustration nan labels,” he said. “I was independent because I didn’t person nary different option.”

Using a sliding standard and offer-based model, LaRussell has created a strategy wherever fans tin determine what worth his creation has to them. Supporters tin bid connected items ranging from performance tickets to circuit merchandise, while different artists tin taxable offers to collaborate connected songs. Bidding for tickets to astir of his shows starts astatine $1 and goes up from location (though donations of astatine slightest $100 are suggested). However, LaRussell and his squad tin antagonistic if they don’t approve. He doesn’t judge little than $500 for a opus characteristic — but because he spends nary much than 15 minutes connected immoderate opus he writes, nan profit tin adhd up quickly.

LaRussell performs astatine Outside Lands astatine Golden Gate Park, successful San Francisco, connected Aug. 9.Dana Jacobs / WireImage via Getty Images file

Three hours earlier nan Brooklyn show, LaRussell joined a freestyle rap exhibition, aliases cypher, connected nan sidewalk successful beforehand of nan venue pinch a section podcast duo that had booked him successful nan weeks starring up to nan concert.Fans tin even bargain stock successful nan royalties of circumstantial songs, aliases bid connected various experiences for illustration wedding appearances, seminars aliases a game of pickleball — a crippled astatine which he swears he is difficult to beat.

LaRussell said he was inspired by nan precocious rapper and chap Californian Nipsey Hussle’s “Proud to Pay” offer-based model. In 2013, Hussle sold 1,000 beingness copies of a mixtape for $100 each successful little than 24 hours, efficaciously making $100,000 overnight. LaRussell wasn’t excessively judge astir asking fans for truthful overmuch rate and alternatively took nan other route.

“I didn’t cognize a bunch of group who had $100 to walk connected an album, truthful I was like, ‘I’m going to fto them salary maine anything,’ because I sewage zero dollars,” he said. “So if they springiness maine $1, I americium up. It really helped maine build nan guidelines and found nan infrastructure.”

The organization he's built continues to move backmost into LaRussell and his piggy bank. On Thursday, nan rapper launched his ain “Proud 2 Pay” initiative where, for $1,000, supporters get a “Backyard Show Experience,” which includes an friendly show, unlimited entree to early backyard shows, a circuit of his puerility location and more. In little than 24 hours, nan rapper said he sold 67 tickets.

That instauration from his career’s inception has evolved into a résumé that rivals immoderate of nan biggest philharmonic artists of nan past decade. To date, LaRussell has collaborated connected songs pinch hip-hop titans including Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa and Lil Jon, has publically released 40 albums since 2018 and amassed much than 100 cardinal world streams, according to Songstats, a music analytics site.

And he owns each of his euphony and intelligence spot done Good Compenny, some a explanation and a imaginative institution he founded successful 2016 to prosecute his ain creation and thief others astir him do nan same. Everything from contented creation to opus accumulation and merchandise shipping tin hap wrong a building successful his hometown of Vallejo, California, base nan business’ name, a play connected seeing nan worth successful a coin immoderate group discard.

“Them pennies adhd up,” said LaRussell.

So far, LaRussell said, he’s made millions of dollars disconnected of music, thing he’s proud and humbled by. But he admits he has loftier goals that support him hungry, moreover if his decisions induce financial and imaginative risks.

“There’s a different roller coaster erstwhile you’re independent because you’re perpetually taking risks for a reward that you spot successful your caput that whitethorn not beryllium thing that looks wholly tangible yet, but you person to conscionable spell pinch what you feel,” he said.

While he’s not nan first indie creator to wade into mainstream success, LaRussell continues to beryllium 1 of nan astir savvy of this era. Predecessors for illustration KRS-One and Chance nan Rapper gained world fame, while location performers for illustration Devine Carama of Lexington, Kentucky, who’s been a full-time independent creator for nan past 2 decades, person crafted their ain paths to success.

Carama points to LaRussell’s expertise to build a instrumentality guidelines “that loves and supports you — not conscionable your music, but you.”

Devine Carama.Kentucky Commission connected Human Rights

Carama, a organization activistic who teaches a people called “Leadership & Lyricism: Hip-Hop & Community Change” astatine nan University of Kentucky, has seen nan manufacture alteration clip and again. From personally trading CDs from nan trunk of his car successful nan early 2000s to nan existent era of streaming, Carama said nan mean whitethorn change, but he believes organization being astatine nan halfway of nan civilization has not wavered.

“I don’t spot really it’s imaginable to beryllium a hip-hop creator and not beryllium connected to nan organization that you travel from and someway utilizing nan civilization to springiness back,” he said.

For LaRussell, shows scope from friendly experiences astatine lounges pinch a mates 100 group to larger performances astatine awesome venues pinch a fewer thousand. In nan past twelvemonth alone, he’s hosted an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, performed astatine this year’s NBA All-Star weekend and created this season’s anthem for nan San Francisco Giants.

But, LaRussell said, nary of it intends thing without being capable to springiness backmost to nan group who support him.

One family of 3 from California — mom, dada and teenage boy — was attending its 28th LaRussell show together that day successful Brooklyn. They were 2nd successful statement for nan show, arsenic eager, they said, arsenic nan first clip they saw their favourite creator perform.

“It feels awesome supporting group that are putting bully power retired and being nonstop to nan artist,” said Noah Kahn.

His woman and boy nodded successful agreement.

Katie Kahn added, “We’re portion of nan family now.”