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Bay Area rapper LaRussell is looking to blaze a new path for independent artists to sell their music directly to fans.
Celebrities like NBA star Kyrie Irving and Snoop Dogg have stepped up to support LaRussell’s direct-to-consumer model, while Irving dished out $11,001 for the rapper’s upcoming Something’s in the Water album on the EVEN platform.
LaRussell woke up to a record $11,001 payment and realized it was none other than the Dallas Mavericks superstar guard over the weekend.
Irving hopped on the phone during LaRussell’s livestream Sunday and gave the rapper his flowers for being a trailblazer in the independent space and bucking the traditional streaming model.
“You earned it. You deserve it. You worked your ass off so I thought I would just contribute,” Kyrie told him. “I know you will pay it forward… I’m putting my money where my mouth is.”
LaRussell is looking to sell 100,000 copies of his album in 30 days. He generated $57,000 from 2,600 fans in the first 24 hours of putting his new album on sale.
West Coast legend Snoop Dogg also paid it forward while donating $2,500 for the album. “Had 2 do it!!! nefew [LaRussell] changin tha game,” he wrote on X.
“UNCLE SNOOP BOUGHT AN ALBUM FOR $2,500!!!! It feels so good knowing those who came before me and paved a way for me to do what I do respects my art and my grind,” LaRussell responded on IG. “I wouldn’t do what I do today If I never watched Snoop performing on the Up In Smoke DVD!!! That DVD kicked off my desire to rap!! I’M GRATEFUL Thank You @snoopdogg.”
Comedian Cedric the Entertainer paid $1,000 for the album. Plenty of LaRussell’s peers like E-40, Symba and Drumma Boy saluted his vision in his comments section. While fans can pay as little as $1, according to a press release, the average album sale is currently $22.
“The possibility of failing publicly and having to live in that,” LaRussell added in a statement. “Aim for something that you might miss, because who you become along that journey is what really matters. You don’t know what’s going to make you until you do something that could break you as well.”
LaRussell releases music at a vociferous pace as he put out seven albums in 2025, with the most recent being his Good Ethica project with Ethika Music.
“What LaRussell just proved is that streaming can come second. When artists own the relationship with their fans, a single supporter can be worth more than millions of streams — before a song ever hits Spotify,” EVEN CEO Mag Rodriguez added in a statement. “This isn’t anti-streaming; it’s about timing, ownership and community. LaRussell built direct trust with his fans and showed that the real power in music today is converting attention into commitment.”
Other rappers in the past have attempted different variations of the direct-to-consumer model, like the late Nipsey Hussle, who sold his Crenshaw mixtape for $100 in 2013, which drew Jay-Z’s support as Hov purchased 100 copies.
