Dank Luciano – Business Is Business

New single ‘Business is Business’ highlights
Dank Luciano’s one-of-a-kind sound and style

AIKEN, SC – Isaiah Sharief Russell, known professionally as Dank Luciano, is a U.S.-based rapper and songwriter from Aiken, South Carolina, who’s approach to hip-hop is turning heads all along the East Coast.

Born in Far Rockaway, New York, but raised in South Carolina, this up-and-coming artist has been chasing his dream to be an influential musician since the age of 15. His first single, “Hibachi,” gained recognition throughout the streets and brought him to the attention of XRO Studios. Following the success of that single, he’s released the follow-up song “Business is Business” under the XRO Studios label.

“It’s a song that was kind of inspired by Biggie Small’s ’10 Crack Commandments,’” he said. “It’s about how you conduct business in your town, or when you’re serving time somewhere, or whatever you’re doing. It’s about the struggle of having to sell dope or do whatever you have to do to make money, and so if you’re gonna do it then this is how you do it. I think of it as the blueprint or the handbook of the trap house. It’s a definite anywhere song that you can play in the club, or on the radio, or just to kick back to at a cookout with the neighborhood. And it has an upbeat tempo that makes you constantly nod your head.”

Dank said “Business is Business” is a great example of the kind of music he hopes to be known for throughout his career. He raps about the struggle and poverty, because that’s his reality. He raps about what inspires him about life, and makes music that he said “tells the story of my people.”

“I tell the story of the street, the story of the street, the story of poverty,” he said. “You might be someone who has been on welfare or has food stamps, but you don’t want to talk about it because you’re embarrassed. I come in as the voice of the people. I want to be known as the one who told the story for the people the whole time. I want my legacy to be like the one who took a similar situation that someone else is in and turned into something prosperous.”

Dank said part of what makes fans love his unique sound is the “weird harmony” that he accompanies with his raps. He has some melodic music that he learned how to perfect while he spent time in prison, and he loves to employ that sound in surprising ways throughout his songwriting.

“My sound is one that isn’t like any other,” he said. “I have a unique sound and unique way of telling my side of the story. The way I say things is totally different than the way you say things. My point of view and my style separate me from anyone else in the game because of the way I think and the way I choose to express the way I think. I also want to be known as the dude who touched every genre.”

In addition to the release of “Business is Business,” Dank Luciano is working on an EP that’s part of an artist collective under the XRO Studios label. He said the EP is slated to drop sometime this summer.