Bay Area rapper shakes off nerves, electrifies Outside Lands' biggest stage

San Francisco Chronicle​

2 days ago

Vallejo rapper LaRussell brought local flavor, nervous energy and a heavy dose of sentimentality to Outside Lands, as he treated the audience — which ballooned throughout his set — to a slate of Bay Area anthems.
'I was nervous for nothing,' he said early on in his afternoon performance at the Land's End stage on Saturday, Aug. 9, shaking off the festival jitters.
After playing a handful of songs off his latest album 'Good Ethika,' the North Bay artist banged out renditions of chart-toppers like Too Short 's 'Blow the Whistle' and Tupac's 'That's Just the Way It Is.'
Though he admitted to being intimidated by the massive size of the venue — Golden Gate Park's Polo Field — LaRussell had plenty of fans cheering him on. His contemplative lyrics were buoyed by the beauty of Oakland-based vocal ensemble Collab Choir, as well as a flutist, harpist and pianist.
The result: high vibes and a positive, contagious energy.
Dressed in a red 'Good Compenny' jersey and rocking a cow-print beanie, LaRussell danced around the stage, often hopping off to high five the front row.
Toward the end of his set, he submerged himself in the crowd, snaking his way all the way out to the sound mixing tent, much to the delight of fans who brought out their phones to capture the moment.
Once back onstage, he was joined by up-and-coming rapper Ave for the upbeat track, 'We Outside.' LaRussell encouraged the young artist, putting his arm around her and swaying back and forth to amp up the hyphy elements of the song.
'A few years ago, no one wanted to book me,' LaRussell said.
He also reminisced about playing to a modest crowd of just five people.
'I had more people in my car on the ride over!' he said with a laugh.
Paying it forward, LaRussell brought his manager, another Bay Area native, onstage to perform spoken word poetry.
'Work ethic isn't something you can buy,' she recited.
Embracing the spirit of uplifting one another, the crowd showed her just as much love as the artist they came to see.
Throughout his show, it seemed LaRussell was right where he wanted to be.