Russ broke down his hip hop Mount Rushmore, and Slim Shady made both his “favourites” and “technically best” lists.
In a wide-ranging interview on Shaquil O’Neal’s The Big Podcast, Russ touched on being an independent artist, wild mosh pits, surprise Marvel guests, and his biggest musical inspirations.
When Shaq asked him about his Mount Rushmore of hip hop, Russ did not hesitate to split it into two categories:
Who I technically think is the best is Black Thought, Em, Jay-Z, and probably, technically, it’s André 3000; that’s where I would go with this fourth. It’s just the best. My favourite is though Drake, Ye, Nipsey, Em.
There is no arguing that Eminem belongs to the rap elite when it comes to his technical skills. Not everyone can feel a personal connection to his music to name Em his favourite, though. It is not a problem for Russ as he grew up listening to Marshall. He said to Shaq:
Growing up, my influence was Eminem. It was G-Unit. Eminem, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and then it was Lil Wayne. And then it was Kanye. I didn’t get to Jay-Z until I was older; you have to be at a certain maturity level to grasp what he’s saying. So, I didn’t get to Jay-Z until I was 17-18. And DMX, I liked his cadence.
That’s right, Eminem is the only name to show up on all three lists.
