Born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, Rush Kurly was drawn to music at an early age. His main influence was Lil Wayne and later Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z, J Cole, etc. Due to his early influence being Lil Wayne, he was unable to do or relate to typical afro pop. Rush Kurly just wanted to rap even though rap was not the African style of music. DJs would not play his music and often called him a “wannabe.” He learned how to rap by watching videos on YouTube and dissecting Lil Wayne and Eminem’s lyrics.
Rush Kurly started rapping at the age of 15 and has been serious ever since. While in class he would write lyrics. Around the age of 16, he recorded his first record. Kurly and his friend would sell
their phones for a chance to record with bigger producers in his country. Even though he was broke he always had money to record a new song. Although no one would even listen to the songs, he would and he reflected on the progress he was making. With constant practice, he kept getting better and better. By his junior year of high school, he gained fame and popularity through his songs. He was the coolest kid and had all the girls.
In order for him to fully pursue hip-hip, he knew he would have to leave Africa. In 2016, he decided to move to Atlanta, Georgia where he met hip-hop artist Future. After Future heard him rap, he was confident Rush would eventually blow up. His hit single “Nuh Nuh” dropped in 2017. “Nuh Nuh” earned over 80k plays on SoundCloud and was added to some big Spotify playlists.
In 2018 he dropped his first mixtape titled We Are Not Who We Are. When the mixtape did not do as well, Rush pulled it from all stores in 2020 and decided to go a different direction. Rush planned on dropping a new video every month until he went viral.
Rush Kurly sees himself as motivation and wants to prove to himself that it can be done. There has yet to be a hip-hop artist born and raised in Africa to make it in the United States. Every day he reminds himself that he’s come too far to quit. From wearing fake sneakers, pretending to be Lil Wayne, to moving to Atlanta on his own and rapping for Future, he truly is his own motivation.
Way before music, he was always passionate about entrepreneurship. He always had side business or hustles to fuel his music. While attending Concord University he majored in business management. He wants to use the success of his music to leverage and create even bigger businesses and companies. Although Kurly is an independent artist, he hopes to get signed to a label so he can take
His music further. Every song that he has released has come from his own mind. Rush currently resides in Houston, TX, and is still on a mission to reach mainstream hip-hop.
Currently, he is working on his debut album: TIGHT ROPES, HIGH HOPES! His current single “Top Boy” is steadily climbing the charts. Rush Kurly’s music is available on Apple, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Youtube. Be sure to check the music video for “Top Boy” down below!
© 2022, alanna. All rights reserved.
