Speaking of The Alchemist in Part 2, Russ has a new album out that was inspired by the book.
In listening to an interview on the making and inner workings of his newest album, I couldn’t help but notice something.
Listen:
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxkLpkQpztJD38p-dU8plVGNlatYOWKehf
He brings all these 18-21-year-old, up-and-coming producers to his house where the studio is and they plan to just ‘make shit’ for 3 days.
Russ happened to be re-reading The Alchemist at the time and has this massive epiphany for his next project. He tells this massive group of young guns that he is getting them a house, and they are making an album based on the book.
That album happened to be Santiago, which drops today as I’m writing this.
Mind you, Russ can work with any producer in the world with his current status in the game. And he starts building with these ‘kids’. 3 days later something crazier happens…
He could have called Dr. Dre, Jay, or even Ye to produce the album. That level of talent is just a phone call away for him now… Yet he chooses to bet on emerging talent. These Level 1 kids and put them on the map.
Just as no other D1 school would have called Greg Powers to be their HC when he was at ASU, no artist with Russ’ current level of talent and success would bet an entire album on a bunch of ‘unproven’ producers who haven’t worked with ‘anyone worth a shit’.
At the beginning of the interview, Russ says something really profound about this idea of conviction to believe in people. In this case, he was talking about himself:
“Early on I had entitlement, I got to a place now where I realize, it’s not hip-hop’s job to re-affirm what I already beleive. Early on I was mad that hip hop was not telling me what I already should have beleived about myself.”
The ole need for external validation…
‘What will other people think of this’ wins over, ‘what the fuck do I really want?’
Russ no longer cares about the former and leans into the latter. He also no longer needs it when he wants to team up with a bunch of young kids who produce beats on Youtube instead of for big-name artists.
This is why even if Greg Powers has talent, wouldn’t have been hired by Boston College or Ohio State to be an HC. Because it wouldn’t be a ‘sexy’ press release. The external validation wouldn’t be there. The institutions don’t have enough balls not to need external validation because the institution is a consensus culture. The decision therefore must be ‘rational’.
Level 50 people lean into the ‘irrational’. They bet on emerging.
The best find you before the rest know you.
And they get the advantage of actually knowing you…
How to Pull People Up
Recognize talent early (before it’s obvious to the crowd)
Be secure enough in yourself and believe in their potential enough to make an unreasonable bet
Make the ask to work with you or shout out their great work to others
Watch them win
Feel the joy that you helped
Invert this and root for the people who haven’t ‘won’ yet:
When you share things, they grow and you don’t have to be the caliber of Russ to do this. You can help someone grow by hitting buttons:
Like, Repost, Share, etc
You’ve got that power within you. The question is, who will you help today?
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