Music
Russ Sings The Blues On ‘Hard For Me’
‘Hard For Me’ caps a year that saw the New Jersey rapper drop two projects and give away his streaming money to fans. …
Russ flat-out refuses to stop making new music and it’s kind of hard to argue that it’s not endearing. Just weeks after dropping his Chomp EP and rapping alongside legends like Black Thought and Busta Rhymes, the New Jersey-born rapper is back on his solo grind with the soulful “Hard For Me,” crooing his blues over a melancholy piano loop with a nifty guitar noodle in the background. It’s a return to the heartbroken, world-weary persona in the mode of early Drake that made him a fan-favorite capable of racking up platinum plaques independently.
Russ has had himself busy year, releasing not just one but two projects beginning with January’s Shake The Snow Globe. He followed up in May with the deluxe version, adding features from Ty Dolla Sign and Westside Boogie, all while pulling down a reported $100,000 a week from streaming. He also contributed verses to projects from the likes of Trippie Redd, made his television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and worked with Kehlani on “Take You Back.”
But his arguably most impactful move of the year wasn’t even a new music release, it was giving away $20,000 to his Twitter followers to boost their spirits during the rough early months of the pandemic. 2020 may have been trash for most of us but Russ turned that trash into treasure and in this process, may have changed some minds about him as well.
Listen to Russ’s “Hard For Me” above.
Artist Spotlight
Lana Crow turns challenges into a celebration with “Laugh With You”
“Laugh With You,” the latest single from Lana Crow, is a sincere rallying cry to embrace life in all its messy, beautiful mess. In the song, indie pop and alt-pop combine to deliver an emotional blow that feels both personal and universal.
“Laugh With You” feels like an instant connection, and Crow is telling you stories of hard times with a cozy, knowing smile. This song is as much about struggle as it is about how strong you are. It serves as a reminder that these struggles are simply what give us the strength to keep going, even when life is tough.
Crow encourages people to welcome them, create happiness in the cracks, and laugh even as the world gets heavy. The result is a song that delicately nudges you to love and embrace yourself. It is an anthem for anyone experiencing tough times who refuses to give up hope. Lana Crow continues to demonstrate her songwriting skills, both musically pleasing and emotionally rich, with “Laugh With You.”
It’s a reminder that it’s how we respond to tough times, rather than how they affect us, that’s key. With this song, not only does Crow provide us with music, but she also lets us know that sometimes a laugh is what we need to remember that there is always something to smile about and that, even when it feels like life has waged war against you, laughter can still be found.
Artist Spotlight
Lisa Boostani creates a mesmerizing tidal realm in “Ocean”
Lisa Boostani’s “Ocean” takes you deep into a sensory world where body, spirit, and myth come together, beyond the surface of genre. Boostani makes a soundscape that is both ethereal and deeply human by combining the broad essence of psychedelic pop with the strong appeal of alternative rock.
Her voice rises as if it is coming from deep within her, shaped by emotion rather than action. She intentionally channels the intangible, turning weakness into strength rather than a source of pain, and “Ocean” tells people to get involved in this inner world, not just watch it. This release is an integral part of her first EP, “One,” which will come out in March 2026 and is based on love, sensuality, and unity.
If “Ocean” is any indication, the EP will show sensuality not as something pretty, but as a kind of spiritual intelligence, a way to know yourself by connecting with others. The song’s textures and structure have an aquatic quality, moving between clarity and delirium, rhythm and freedom. Its emotional focus is on immersion instead of resolution.
The striking quality of “Ocean” is the blend of the mystical worlds. Boostani understands that strength often shows up as gentleness and that deep feelings are better expressed through frequencies than words. She wants people to see consciousness as immediacy, sensation as truth, and openness as an undeniable strength.
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