Back in January, Russell “Russ” Vitale let loose his studio LP, Shake the Snow Globe, which opened at #4 on the Billboard 200 chart with 65,000 first-week units. Russ then returned last month with the rap-focused, 5-track Chomp EP.
Chomp featured credited contributions from Hip Hop luminaries Kxng Crooked, Ab-Soul, DJ Premier, Busta Rhymes, Benny The Butcher, and Black Thought. Russ spoke to Apple Music’s Ebro Darden about his latest body of work.
Darden also chatted with Russ about what could be next for the 28-year-old rapper. Apparently, the Sicilian-American musician wants to work with three of the most celebrated contemporary R&B songstresses on another potential EP that has absolutely no rapping.
“That’s definitely been thought about,” said Russ when asked about possibly creating an R&B project. “I might have to come with five songs and it’s me and Keyshia Cole, and me and Kehlani, and me and Ari Lennox, and there’s not an ounce of rap on it. And you put that right next to Chomp and it’s like, ‘Enjoy.’”
Keyshia Cole rose to prominence in the mid-2000s with songs such as “I Should Have Cheated,” “Love,” and “Let It Go” featuring Lil Kim and Missy Elliott. Over the last four years, Kehlani landed in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart with SweetSexySavage, While We Wait, and It Was Good Until It Wasn’t. Dreamville Records artist Ari Lennox made waves in 2019 with her Shea Butter Baby album and the label’s chart-topping Revenge of the Dreamers III compilation.
Today on the Ebro Show I’m talking to @russdiemon about his new EP CHOMP and getting to those bars with @blackthought and @BennyBsf . Lock in: https://t.co/RwqJBvn5Cd pic.twitter.com/BJcBNNJL5H
— the Old Man Ebro (@oldmanebro) December 14, 2020