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Since arriving at Louisville in 2010, Cardinal fans have seen Russ Smith take on a number of different identities and personalities. Well it appears as though Russ the professional has a new one that he wasn't able to flash during his college years: musician.
Russ Smith makes his professional debut as a musician on DJ Whoo Kid's new mixtape, which is scheduled to be released on October 28, 2014 through SMH Records. The mixtape also features established stars like Royce da 5'9, Twista, Inspectah Deck of Wu Tang Clan, and Vito Banga of Nappy Roots.
Russ appears on track 16 -- "Whiskey Woman" -- which also features Mike Smith, Wordsworth, Vito Banga of Nappy Roots and Side Project Propaganda.
Speaking of nostalgic, Hay and Smith indicate that the album is inspired by Quincy Jones' albums from the past, with the duo even hiring some of Jones' musicians to encapsulate that sound on record. "Being at our own recording studio over in Charlotte Mike and I worked with Crooked I on the single called ‘I Did It Anyway," said Hay.
"That was definitely a highlight and it was the last song we wrote for the album. Another highlight was working with Russ Smith, one of the greatest Louisville Cardinals of all-time. He did a great job. Really, everybody on this album did a great job."
You can read the entire release here.
Call me a hipster or a music snob, but I'm not sure anything is going to be able to top Russ' underground work.
