Paul Russell | |
---|---|
![]() Russell at the 2023
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Paul Jeffrey Russell [1] |
Born | [2] | November 28, 1997
Education | Cornell University ( BS) |
Origin |
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. North Texas, U.S. |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
|
Years active | 2018–present |
Labels | Arista |
Paul Jeffrey Russell (born November 28, 1997) is an American rapper based in Los Angeles. [3] He is best known for his 2023 single " Lil Boo Thang", which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. After the song gained virality on TikTok, he signed with Arista Records to release it as a commercial single for the label. [3] [4] Before pursuing a musical career, Russell worked as a business analyst and corporate advertiser. [5]
Russell was born in 1997. He grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta but attended Allen High School in Allen, Texas. [6] During his adolescence, he started listening to alternative rock, while also being exposed to Christian hip-hop, mainly through Lecrae's music. [7]
Russell graduated from Cornell University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial relations. [8] Upon relocating to Los Angeles later that year, Russell started working at a brand consultancy. [9]
While still in college, Russell started making music as Paulitics, [6] [7] uploading his first full songs on SoundCloud. [7] He was later approached by Christian hip-hop artist Ruslan, the co-founder and owner of Christian hip-hop label Kings Dream Entertainment, who had discovered Russell's music through his friend and former schoolmate Jet Trouble, a fellow Kings Dream signee. [6] [7] He subsequently started collaborating with Ruslan and other artists from the label, [6] [7] while completing an internship at Vans as part of his academic coursework. [7]
In August 2018, Russell officially signed to Kings Dream Entertainment as an artist, [6] [10] and released his first commercial single, "Meet Me Outside". [10] On October 12 of the same year, Russell released his first project through Kings Dream, Via Text, a joint album with Ruslan. [11] In November of the same year, he featured on Reach Records' Christmas compilation The Gift: A Christmas Compilation, appearing with Abe Parker and Lecrae on the song "We Three Kings". [12]
On March 29, 2019, Russell released his debut solo album, Once in a Dry Season, through Kings Dream, which included features from the likes of Ruslan, Jon Keith and Montell Fish. [13] [14] In January 2020, he was included in the online Christian hip-hop magazine Rapzilla's annual Freshmen List. [15] Beginning later the same year, he started promoting his music through his TikTok profile. [9] [16] From 2021 onwards, Russell released a number of singles through independent label Boom.Records.[ citation needed] In August 2021, he featured on Reach Records' compilation Summer ’21, on the song "Never Give Up" alongside Tedashii. [17] In July 2022, he featured on the same label's compilation Summer Twenty-Two, on the song "Wouldn't U Rather" with together with DJ Mykael V and Jon Keith. [18] [19]
On June 28, 2023, Russell first previewed a snippet of his track " Lil Boo Thang" on TikTok; the clip went viral on the platform the following month, and he subsequently agreed to sign a deal with Arista Records to release the song as a full commercial single. [3] [9] [20] "Lil Boo Thang" was officially released on August 18 of the same year; [3] [20] the single debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 99 in September 2023, marking Russell's first appearance on the chart, [20] and went on to peak at number 14 in January 2024. [21] As a result of the song's success, he went on to make live guest appearances at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, [22] [23] on Jimmy Kimmel Live! [24] and on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in the following months. [25] [26]
On January 26, 2024, Russell released his second single through Arista Records, "Say Cheese". [27] [28] Later that year, Russell was announced as an opening act supporting Meghan Trainor on The Timeless Tour. [29] In July 2024, Russell released the single "Slippin'" featuring Trainor. [30]
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Once in a Dry Season |
|
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Via Text (with Ruslan) |
|
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [31] |
US Adult Pop [32] |
US Pop [33] |
US Rhy. [34] |
AUS [35] |
CAN [36] |
IRE [37] |
UK [38] |
WW [39] | ||||
"Get Back" (with Ruslan) |
2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Via Text | |
"Breeze" (with Ruslan) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Birthday" (with Ruslan) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Kalamazoo" (featuring Jon Keith and TrossTheGiant) |
2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Once in a Dry Season | |
"45th Avenue Interlude" (featuring Ruslan and Jon Keith) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Open Road" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Feels Like a Dream" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Kimbo Slice" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Find My Way" (with Oh-So featuring Kaleb Mitchell) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
"Friends" (with Ruslan) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Julio Jones" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Personal Brand" (with Foggieraw) |
2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"Facetime (4G LTE)" (with Kuwada) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Hallelujah" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"Nose Job" (with Wes Walker) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Jeans" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"Glossier" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"H4U" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Ms. Poli Sci" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Be That Too" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"
Lil Boo Thang" (solo or Galantis remix) |
14 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 28 [40] |
20 | 79 | |||
"Say Cheese" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"Eat Pray Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Slippin'" (featuring Meghan Trainor) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Year |
---|---|
"Reminiscing" (Oh-So with Paul Russell and Lawren) |
2019 |
"Somebody New" (Abe Parker with Paul Russell) |
2020 |
"Sushi" (Cole Tindal with Paul Russell and TrossTheGiant) |
2021 |
"Goodbye" (Shanin Blake with Paul Russell) | |
"Never Give Up" (166 with Paul Russell and Tedashii) | |
"Yours!" (Barely Trev with Paul Russell) |
2022 |
Title | Other artist(s) | Year | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"We Three Kings" | Lecrae and Abe Parker | 2018 | The Gift |
"Chaotic" [45] | — | 2023 | Good Burger 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Social Music Star | Paul Russell | Pending | [46] |