Tycoon, aka William Russ, was born in a small town known as Masset but raised in Skidegate. For those of you who don't know, these towns are native reserves located on Haida Gwaii in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Now, Tycoon grew up under the watchful eye of his twin sister, Carla, who proved the more dominant of the two. She did everything from tying his shoes to doing his homework. He soaked up all the attention but eventually learned he had to take charge to get through life. After repeating grade 11 for a second time, he realized he did not know what he wanted to do with the rest of his life (this being a big decision at the tender age of eighteen). He decided to pick himself up and finish what he started, having to complete his grade 12 through an adult learning center. Hard work and dedication paid off and once he realized his new independence, he decided he was moving on up...
To Malaspina University/College. He left the comforts of Haida Gwaii at twenty, after ending his reign as the longest running high school student...not to be confused with the oldest, that trophy went to Niis Wes. So here he was, little Tycoon in Nanaimo. Now what? He knew he loved music, having over seven hundred CD's in his collection and, yes, had listened to them all in his spare time, but where would that lead him? He had no clue... After he blindly felt his way through the first year, he realized he was on the wrong path. After his third semester, he bravely decided to leave the safety of school and work until he found the right path. He slaved away at his grandparents' restaurant (Dave's In the Village) but money being good; he took his time until
One day while he and his friend, James Williams, were walking around the village talking of hip-hop and women, when they decided to make their way to see a local cat, Steven Parnell, who could hook them up with a joint or two. Instead, he asked both gentlemen if they were MCs, taking both by surprise. He showed them his mic and Acid Pro program, which seemed unbelievably futuristic to the guys at the time. They started to play with the program, rhyming off verses together. After a few months, and a lot of embarrassment, the make-shift studio and its' MCs were starting to sound quite good.
This was it! Tycoon saw this as an avenue to his future! He bought his own computer, a microphone and the Acid Pro program. He set up shop in his parent's home and invited everyone to come and rap! Many came, but only a few stayed to complete a mixtape called "Long Overdue". Those involved now had their own monikers: James aka "Tecklepto", Steven aka "Diabolikal", Damien aka "Strike" and Willie aka "Tycoon" (he saw the word printed in a magazine with giant yellow letters and BAM a star was born). TYCOON (definition): rich with rhymes.
This wasn't all in his head, for many people say he was (and still is) the best rapper to come from Skidegate. In fact, all who worked on the mixtape had potential. James was sharp as a tack, Steven had charisma, and Damien was the young gun looking for respect. Tycoon felt like he just part of the clique, like MC Ren (NWA) or Sen Dogg (Cypress Hill). He wanted to keep making music and improving his skill. In these early days, Tycoon recorded three solo albums! As his confidence grew, so did the hunger. He had to learn, to create, to grow. He wanted to make music and rhyme, just like Dr. Dre and DJ Premier, his idols. He purchased FL Studios, associated with 9th Wonder (producer from Little Brother) and began concocting his own brand of hip-hop. As he posted his music on www.acidplanet.com, he received a lot of praise and he knew he was on the right path. He put all of his energy into producing beats.
But his energy was not resonating in the beats. They were good but not powerful. He needed more education. This led him to the Art Institute of Vancouver Burnaby. He had found a school that provided a tailored program where he could learn and grow. Tycoon packed his bags and headed for the bright lights and foggy coastline of Vancouver. It excited him to be so close to his goal of producing within the recording industry. First term flew by as he learned about mastering and mixing his beats on a professional level. He returned home to try out his new knowledge with the Haida Hippies (Jason, Desi, Walker, Dwyer, Joe and Brandon). They worked hard but never publicly released their efforts.
Upon returning for a second semester at the Art Institute, Tycoon had lost his fire. He became impatient and distracted and dropped out to work on music full-time (while working any job he could to pay the bills). He migrated back to Haida Gwaii and reconnected with the Haida Hippies. After the first beat came, it created a snowball effect. They all worked tirelessly to get CD's out. The music began to flow. Anchored by Jason and Desi, Willie and Walker produced some of the most creative and vivid beats they could. The project peaked after five months of hard work (two of those weeks being sleepless nights for Tycoon). It was stressful but the project was completed before he was to return to Vancouver.
He was now in the bright lights of the big city again. The group had much praise for their project, even receiving contacts from studio executives in Calgary! Tycoon continued to work with the Hippies for a time, and even ventured into the realm of house & trip-hop music with friends Marve Alton and Nolan Allen. In his ten year journey into the life of a music producer and rhyming sensation, he has proved he can accomplish anything. Currently he is flying solo, and focusing on creating and mixing his own stellar beats. His love of music has remained constant and his passion for creativity and creating only grows bigger. He has been collaborating with MC Perfekt and is also well on the way to producing his own album. Now a father of his own to little musical sensation, Noora, he is a force to be reckoned with and definitely a name to keep your eye on. Check out Tycoon's beats at any of the websites (www.myspace.com/bigtybeatdowns and www.reverbnation.com/bigybeatdowns) above or contact him directly at carvingshedstudios@gmail.com. You can own or lease the beats...all you have to do is ask! Don't wait till it's too late.
Slowly evolving from MC to Producer to Businessman and I've been doing this for about 5 years now...starting with MCing first as a hobby, producing came about 2 years after I started MCing and now I'm totally involved with starting my own business...and my history will keep growing.
nope.
D.J Premier, Dr. Dre, Timbaland, and everybody really.
FL Studios, Sonic Synth 2, Sample Tank 2, Korg Legacy Collection, and my brain.
I'd love to hear some MC's on my beats so download my free shit and let me see how it turns out. I can even mix it and master it to the best of my abilities for you as well. Lets get PAID!!
