Review of Russ' Debut Album, 'There's Really A Wolf'

Russ is a major talent and before I get into the album I want to take a moment to recognize the artist.

If you don't know... now you know

Russ is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. So know that not only did he perform the whole album (no features) but he's the only writer to be credited. This really is his album. He produced, mixed, mastered, and engineered this whole album himself.

Well, damn Russ.

The Jersey-born/Atlanta-raised underground artist has quite a catalogue. For years he's dropped mixtape after mixtape. Eleven mixtapes, all by Russ. With no recognition, Russ decided to drop just a song each week to gain some notoriety - and it worked. He started gaining some recognition in the past couple years with "What They Want" and "Losin Control" that both made it on The Hot 100. Oh, and he formed his own label - Diemon.

The Story Behind the Wolf

I came across Russ a little while ago while I was looking through one of 2Dopeboyz' weekly DopeHouse playlists and followed him ever since. I was hyped when he first announced the release of his debut album back in April. And then there was this, the explanation before the name There's Really A Wolf.

After 6-7 years of 250+ plus tracks and 11 mixtapes, Russ' time is finally on the come up. He did catch some heat for a recent video of him bashing bloggers, more specifically those who looked past his music submissions. He's not the only artist who gets looked over, unfortunately, but shit happens. Regardless of that, he's blowing up. Russ is currently on his Wake Up Tour doing his thing. The album actually did amazing in its first week, debuting at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart.

"It's like oh fuck, There's Really A Wolf"

"I heard it's my time"

I think the best way I can describe There's Really A Wolf is authentic. Anybody who knows me, knows that that's my favorite word and I don't use it loosely. The 20-track project is authentic, raw, and just very true to him. Russ offers a range of sounds on this project. There are some emotional highs, from soft croons over girls to spitting some hard bars about his successes. There's hard hitting beats to mellow tunes. There’s Really A Wolf is nothing but good vibes, dope beats... and just some real shit. Simple as that.

Something tells me we'll be hearing a lot more from Russ. I can't even imagine how his sophomore album will sound. His grind is undeniable and his music will only get better.

Make sure you cop yourself a copy on iTunes. Support the kid, he's the real deal.