A Quick Chat with Ruu

‘WORTH’ is a powerful return from you - can you tell us a bit about the song’s meaning / themes?

This song is about my experience growing up Black in South-West Sydney, being (and feeling like) the only Black person in my area and experiences on Black culture and how it has been perceived and taken advantage of as I continue to live life

What first drew you to create music?

I have been playing Violin since Kindergarten and Trumpet since year 3, so I have always been around music. I discovered Hip-Hop in Year 7, and since then have yearned to tell my story, as well as share experiences of what I see on the daily. Music brings people together, and I have always wanted to do that!

Who would you consider as your biggest musical influences?

J. Cole, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Nas, to name a very small few.

Do you have any weird talents or facts that people might not know about you?

I used to be a child model, and was featured on/in a number of things including: ads that hung up in the back of Big W, a feature on Saturday Morning Disney, a cameo in All-Saints, and the winner of a Colgate competition.

What show are you bingeing at the moment?

I have been going back over the whole MCU for the millionth time, I love being a nerd for Comic Book movies and shows! Aside from that, I have been watching Abbott Elementary, Bad Batch Season 3 (Star-Wars), and The Boondocks.

If you could collaborate with one person, who would it be?

As much as collaborating with J. Cole or Kendrick would be crazy, everyone who I want to collab with is in the Australian scene. To name a few, I would love to work with: Zion Garcia, MALI JO$E, Chanel Loren, thatboykwame, Sollyy, and Yawdoesitall.

What’s in store for the rest of 2024?

For my own music, I have a collab project I have been working on with Aztec Flow (@iamaztecflow on IG), that is all inspired by Southern American production (e.g. New Orleans Bounce, Memphis style). I am also working on my own solo EP that hopefully should be coming out at the top of 2025. 

For my content, I am continuing to building my “The Cultured Black Kid” brand stronger, through interviewing as many amazing local artists as possible, creating/producing new shows for my YouTube, and slowly moving up the ranks as a radio presenter at triple j.