Russell Taylor has been labeled as a “sanger” not to be confused with an ordinary singer. Simply put, when he sings, he feels it from the deepest, most soul-saturated part of his being. Â Taylor isn’t singing for social media likes or trappings. He has a real passion for the craft. His loyal fan base, loving dubbed #Souljers, will gladly second this emotion. Growing up amidst the rich musical legacy of Philadelphia, Russell absorbed the artists’ sounds and style that came before him well as his contemporaries. From Gamble and Huff to Jill Scott, Russell has inspired fellow Philly artists’ authentic musicianship.
PATRICE RIVERS: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE TO DISCUSS YOUR NEW SINGLE WITH US CALLED ‘WAKE UP’
RUSSELL TAYLOR: Thank-you for having me. I appreciate it!
PATRICE: WHAT IS YOUR SWAGGER? WHAT MAKES RUSSELL, RUSSELL?
RUSSELL: If I could narrow it down to one thing, I would say my swagger is my passion, and passion goes with everything I do. I’m committed, so if I commit to something, I’m in it 100%. The other part is that I am easy to look at situations from a bird guy. I’m still human, and I make some mistakes, but Russell is a fair guy whose passionate, creative; he’s an artist and a lover.
PATRICE: GREAT ANSWERS! I DID GET A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO THE SINGLE ‘WAKE UP’ SEVERAL TIMES AND IT IS VERY INSPIRATIONAL, BY THE WAY. WHAT WAS THE WHOLE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE SONG?
RUSSELL: I wrote the song a couple of years ago to respond to the Eric Gardner verdict. It’s a companion song to another one of my songs called ‘Superman, which goes hand-in-hand. It wasn’t the right time or the right project to release during that time. I decided to hold on to it until right at the top of the year when the pandemic hit. I was listening to the news reports, and when I was taking a shower, no lie, and I heard the news about the protests and the marching in the different cities, and at that moment, I was thinking, “this is the time that I have to put this record out.” I got to work on it; I called all my musician friends in the US. I had each musician to send me their part. I put it all together as the producer, and that’s how it all came to the past.
PATRICE: IT’S FUNNY THAT YOU MENTION THAT BECAUSE YOU MADE THE SONG RIGHT BEFORE EVERYTHING STARTED GOING DOWNHILL AND NOW WITH THIS PANDEMIC, THE DIVIDED NATIONS, THE PROTESTS, VIOLENCE, MARCHES FOR GEORGE FLOYD AND BREONNA TAYLOR. THAT’S THE PERFECT SONG IN THIS TIME OF TROUBLE.
RUSSELL: Yes, it’s been crazy. As an artist, I wish it wasn’t the right time to put out a song like this with brown and black bodies surviving in the hands of injustice. It’s never a great time to put something like this out. There is relevance in this, and we are living in it now.
PATRICE: DEFINITELY! THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE AND THE WORST RIGHT NOW. OVER THE YEARS, THE WORLD WASN’T AS DIVIDED AS IT IS NOW. THIS YEAR WE SEE MORE PROTESTS, MORE VIOLENCE, MORE OF EVERYTHING AS FAR AS INJUSTICE.
RUSSELL: Right!
PATRICE: WITH THE VISUALS THAT WAS JUST RELEASED FOR THE SINGLE ‘WAKE UP,’ I DID GET A CHANCE TO WATCH IT, AND I ENJOYED THE CREATIVE STYLE OF IT. SO TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR VISION TO CREATING THE VISUALS.
RUSSELL: I got to work with a great team that I worked with before. We filmed it the last week of July early August with COVID restrictions in Boston. The content was an array of Black women with Dominga Martin as the director. We had to have a Black Lives Matter street mural, a wild factor to make a statement. I was wondering how we were going to pull this off during COVID, but it worked!
PATRICE: I LOVED THE VISUALS AND CREATIVITY OF YOUR LATEST PROJECT! I EVEN LOVED HOW YOU ADDED SOME PICTURES OF SOME OF THE BLACK MEN AND WOMEN THAT WERE AFFECTED BY POLICE BRUTALITY. WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM BOTH THE SINGLE AND THE VIDEO?
RUSSELL: I want people to feel empowered and compel to vote. I want to give thanks to black, brown, and people of color to legitimize everything we have been through. We want people to understand what we are going through and to have parents talk to their kids about voting and the elections.
PATRICE: THIS IS A WAKEUP CALL BECAUSE THE RACISM IS REAL. IT’S CRAZIER THIS YEAR! I HOPE EVERYONE TAKE THINGS SERIOUSLY DURING ELECTION. SINCE THE PANDEMIC IS CHANGING EVERYONE’S LIFESTYLE AND WORKSTYLE WHERE VIRTUAL IS THE NEW NORMAL, HAVE YOU BEEN DOING A LOT OF VIRTUAL EVENTS?
RUSSELL: I’ve done three performances, such as for I heart Radio, a memorial service for all the unnamed homeless people we lost to COVID, and a private event. Being able to perform on stage is excellent, but serving behind the camera is not the most fun. I prefer to be in the space with the people where you can see, feel, taste, smell everything.
PATRICE: SOUNDS GREAT! SO DO YOU HAVE ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS THAT YOU ARE WORKING ON?
RUSSELL: I put out a song at the top of the summer called ‘Good Morning,’ and I have some remixes coming for that song. They should be ready and released in October. I was working on another project just before the pandemic hit, which should be released sometime soon. I am still working and is ready to get back to the people.
PATRICE: HOW CAN THE READERS CONNECT WITH YOU?
Connect with Russell Taylor!
 Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/rsoulstar
Twitter:Â http://www.twitter.com/rsoulstar
YouTube:Â https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCktV7CRmKkKz3oMXs5h4WJg
Check out the Video for his latest single ‘Wake Up’Â
