RUSLAN

Artist // Entrepreneur

In the world of conscious, faith-based hip hop, Ruslan is something of a renaissance man. When he isn’t writing and producing original music, he develops compelling content on Youtube, mentors up-and-coming artists, and runs his own independent label, Kings Dream Entertainment.

Born Ruslan Karaoglanov to Armenian parents in Baku, Azerbaijan, Ruslan was a child when he immigrated with his family to the United States in 1991 to escape religious persecution after an ethnic conflict broke out in the wake of tensions between the dissolving Soviet Union and the Azerbaijan government. Settling in San Diego, Ruslan became interested in hip-hop around age eight, and has been honing his craft ever since. In 2010 he released Right Out Loud (The Prequel EP), followed by his full-length debut, Carry On, in 2013. Around the same time, he formed the collective Dream Junkies with fellow rappers Beleaf and John Givez. The group’s debut album, 2016’s Good Religion, registered on Billboard’s R&B, rap, independent, and Heatseakers charts. In 2017 he released part one of his Indie Jones mixtape series which garnered attention on Youtube from the likes of Gary Vaynerchuk and Chase Jarvis.

Upon the release of Indie Jones III, the self-produced third installment in the series. This time around, he gives listeners a glimpse of the man behind the music, discussing his upbringing, his family, his work ethic, his faith, and more.