The Rise of Russell Llantino

From Myspace sensation to one of rap’s most enjoyable creators, rapper Russell has the story arc that’s as inspiring and entertaining as a blockbuster movie.

Gilbert Russell Llantino was born on Oct. 13, 1993 in the city of Mississauga, Ontario, where he grew up in a low-income household alongside his mother, step-father, older brother and younger step-sister. At a young age, Russell was faced with the challenge of self-doubt having been affected by his birth father leaving his family after his birth. Over time though, he was able to create and grow a fanbase when he started making remixes of popular hip-hop songs and posting them to Myspace and YouTube under the alias of D-Pryde.

Being an Asian rapper in a predominantly black community caused Russell to receive ridicule at a young age for following his passion, though this did not stop him from staying on his intended path. If anything, this ridicule made him work harder and eventually Russell got signed to the record label known as Mars Music Group in 2010, at the young age of 17. The artist then went on to release several mixtapes that were received positively by his cult-like fanbase, though this was only the start.

During the next couple of years, Russell went on multiple tours, one with the A-list rapper J. Cole, released multiple hit songs and dropped his first commercial EP as a BMG artist entitled “Canal and Richvale.” On his birthday in 2014 Russell announced a new mixtape that would go on to change everything for the young artist, titled “Plan A.”

This is the point where I learned about the artist, seeing one of the project’s singles “Low Key” on YouTube. With the release of the “Plan A” mixtape I became hooked and continued to get every release of his for the next coming years. Eventually, Russell went on a nation-wide tour with the rap duo Moosh&Twist for their Growing Pains tour. I saw that there were tickets for a Chicago show and immediately bought tickets to my first rap concert.

When the concert eventually came around, my best friend and I went to Chicago and saw Russell perform his set in the intimate venue known as Subterranean. The whole experience was so surreal. Seeing him step on stage and being a bit awestruck that this artist I had been following for years now was right in front of me – a feeling I hadn’t really experienced prior. After the incredible show, Russell was nice enough to hang out in the venue to meet all of his fans. Dapping him up and grabbing a quick picture felt so much more personal than it would with any other artist since he had stopped me to really make sure he got his point across as he stared me in the eyes and expressed how much I mean to him as a fan. That night was a great experience.

A year or two later, after the release of several more projects, I had sent Russell a sketch that I had made on Instagram. The drawing consists of each of his project titles written in their own font and designed with the album’s theme and aesthetic in mind. To my surprise, he immediately responded telling me how much he loved the sketch, enough to even consider getting it tattooed on his body.

Although that never actually happened, that instance was so significant to me as it really put into perspective how special of an artist this man is, having this close of an interaction to his fans that he would even consider getting some of their artwork tattooed onto him. We had a small conversation, showing appreciation to each other, where he then followed my account and has since interacted with a few of my posts here and there, something small to an outsider, but something that I find really meaningful.

Time has passed and since then Russell has released a few projects, one of which has had a significant impact on me. Russell’s self-titled debut album which was released May of 2018 showed a new side to the artist. By far his most passionate, realest and intimate piece to date, “Russell” gave a new side to the already personal artist. The song “Cry for Me, Die for Me” is one of the most hard hitting songs that the artist has ever released and one that has gotten me through some really trying times. Overall, this album has had such an impact on me that it currently sits in my all time top 10 favorite albums list. 

There’s just something special about Russell. He creates content that just makes me enjoy life. When driving around listening to music, he is one of my go to artists, since his music is so enjoyable, along with it being incredibly vast. With another project on the horizon for Russell, the future is looking brighter and brighter with each passing day. 

To check out some of Russell’s content, you can click any of these links:

Spotify / Instagram / Twitter