Ruslan

Ruslan crafts hip-hop productions rooted in positive and spiritually minded themes while based in San Diego. Born Ruslan Karaoglanov to Armenian parents in Baku, Azerbaijan, he arrived in the United States as a child in 1990 when his family fled religious persecution sparked by ethnic conflict following the Soviet Union's dissolution and resulting strains with the Azerbaijan government. After settling in San Diego, he took an interest in hip-hop near age eight and began performing his own material onstage during his teenage years.

Right Out Loud (The Prequel EP) appeared in 2010, and his first full-length album, Carry On, followed in 2013 on Kings Dream. Around that period he co-founded the hip-hop group Dream Junkies with Beleaf and John Givez; their debut, Good Religion, entered Billboard's R&B, rap, independent, and Heatseekers charts in 2016. Ruslan also issued his sophomore solo album, Americana, that year, with guest appearances by Givez, Beleaf, Joey Jewish, Abiv, and Sarah Juers.