LaRussell

LaRussell Dwayne Thomas^[3] was born on October 6, 1994, in Vallejo, California.^[4] He started rapping in the second grade.^[5] He never struggled in school, but did not want to attend, leading to him eventually ending up at People's Continuation High School.^[6][7] His father was his main inspiration in creating music.^[8]

LaRussell fathered a child, a girl, right after he left high school, so he left his musical endeavors to pursue a more supportive and stable job, eventually obtaining a high-income job in aerospace manufacturing in 2012 after graduating from Grand Canyon University. However, he became demotivated to do his job because he was not able to chase his passion. LaRussell eventually released his first album, The Field Effect, in 2018. After releasing more music, he decided to throw a headlining show at the Empress Theatre to take a risk, and it was successful.^[6]

LaRussell began to save money for music, and his father and friends invested their money in him. Eventually, in 2019, he decided to quit his job and start an arts company, Good Compenny, with his friends.^[5][9][10] He originally went under the name of Tota Shakur, but after releasing Silence Won't Save You in 2020, a more personal album with his life story, he felt that he should represent more of himself in his name.^[7]

In 2021, he appeared on The Breakfast Club.^[6] He also decided to share parts of his catalog as royalties.^[11] In 2025, he performed at the halftime show of the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.^[12] In 2026, he performed at the Super Bowl LX Tailgate Party. Days prior to his performance, he signed a record deal with Roc Nation.^[13]

In 2026, he released the album Something’s In The Water with a goal of selling 100,000 copies in one month. In the first 24 hours, he generated $57,000 from 2,600 contributors, including Kyrie Irving, Snoop Dogg and Cedric the Entertainer.^[14] Kyrie Irving’s $11,000 purchase set a world record for most spent on a digital album.^[15] The album was later bought by the company EarnIn for $20,000.^[16] Despite its success, Billboard disqualified the album from appearing on charts due to incentivizing sales.

LaRussell has two daughters.^[17] He is also a vegan and frequently talks about police injustice in his music. He enjoys playing chess, as well as basketball, pickleball, and tennis.^[5][18]

LaRussell names Lil Wayne, E-40, Eminem, Mac Dre, and Nipsey Hussle as large inspirations.^[19] His top artists are Tupac Shakur, Drake, Jay-Z, André 3000, J. Cole, and Kanye West. LaRussell says that his music is genre-bending and mixes many elements together.^[7]

Starting in 2022, after a disgruntling experience with a venue, LaRussell holds many of his performances in his own venue, the Pergola in his home backyard.^{[8][20][21][22][23]} The stage was designed with assistance from Christian Alberto, a local artist.^[24]

In 2026, he appeared on the internet talk show SubwayTakes and claimed Tupac Shakur is the best rapper of all time.^[25]

In 2022, he temporarily bought out the restaurant Momo's Cafe in Vallejo and offered a pay-what-you-want menu for the remainder of the year.^{[4][10][26][27][28]}