meta-scriptMeet Emonee LaRussa, The Digital And Visual Artist Taking The NFT World By Storm | GRAMMY.com
Meet Emonee LaRussa, The Digital And Visual Artist Taking The NFT World By Storm

interview

Meet Emonee LaRussa, The Digital And Visual Artist Taking The NFT World By Storm

Emonee LaRussa started her career as a motion graphics artist, then made visuals for Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign and the Internet. Today, her colorful, psychedelic animations are part of the GRAMMYS x OneOf NFT partnership.

GRAMMYs/Mar 15, 2022 - 06:01 pm

Around the time of the GRAMMY Awards in 2021, Emonee LaRussa sold her first NFT. This took the 27-year-old digital artist from Sacramento, California, by surprise. Despite her popular motion graphics work for music and engaging personality on her fast-paced YouTube tutorials, LaRussa didn't think anyone would want to buy a NFT just for the sake of owning her digital art. 

One year later, LaRussa was a natural choice as one of three digital artists to create the first NFTs as part of GRAMMYs and OneOf's NFT partnership. The partnership brings together cutting-edge digital artists to the Recording Academy to create NFTs to commemorate the 64th, 65th and 66th GRAMMY Awards. These NFTs are the first time the general public will be able to own a piece of the GRAMMY Awards.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are a way to productize digital files by assigning them a certificate of title. Musicians usually collaborate with a digital visual artist to create a limited edition audio/visual digital object on which fans can bid. Depending on demand, the final bids can be quite high, making NFTs a potentially lucrative source of income.

LaRussa's distinctive animation style lends itself nicely to the GRAMMY x OneOf NFTs. Her characterful, exaggerated figures meld psychedelia with a classic cartoon aesthetic that's buoyed by bright, saturated colors.

Prior to exclusively creating NFTs, LaRussa made music visuals for Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign, FKA Twigs, Jhene Aiko, and John Legend, among many others. LaRussa became a familiar face to young, potential digital artists of color who saw a possible future for themselves in her. LaRussa also founded Pamanama, an animation studio specializing in music visuals created by a diverse group of digital artists, specifically artists of color.

LaRussa spoke to GRAMMY.com about her trajectory in the digital art space, her nonprofit, JumpStart Designers, and the NFT she created for the 2022 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 64th GRAMMY Awards. 

Check out Emonee LaRussa’s 64th GRAMMY Awards NFT design.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

How did you get into motion graphics? 

I initially went to film school for cinematography. But being a hyper-feminine person, wearing dresses and acrylic nails, I encountered so much discrimination. I was constantly being told that the way I looked was unprofessional. It wasn't my work ethic. Out of all the students, I was the only person who was getting straight As and who had a cinematography job. But, I can't be a cinematographer if no one wants to be on my set. It's a very team-reliant job.

I started focusing on motion graphics to add visual effects to my cinematography to boost it up. Motion graphics and visual effects allowed me to be behind the computer, to be someone no one could discriminate against. I honestly feel it was for the better because I love what I'm doing now.

You have won a couple of Emmys; what were those for? 

It was when I was working at CBS here in Sacramento. When I first started, I didn't know you could win an Emmy working there. One of the Emmys was for a campaign for a story about these kids who kept getting cancer in Ripon, a county in the area, and how authorities were knowingly allowing chemicals to get in the water and it was killing people. The other one was for a campaign for "Good Day Sacramento" where we did a whole bunch of motion graphics.

How did you go from working in television to music? 

I was making fan art while working 40 hours a week at CBS. Tyler, the Creator came out with an album; I'm a huge Tyler fan and I hopped on that instantly.

I made an animation. I … uploaded it literally when I was about to go to work. When I got there, I saw Columbia Records liked it on Twitter. I went out on a limb and was like, "Yo, if you like it so much, maybe you should hire me." I got a message from John Vincent Salcedo, who has worked with Beyoncé and all these big artists. That was a huge thing and I needed to quit my job. He gave me my first big opportunity with Lil Nas X. I made a lyric video for "Panini" and it spiraled from there.

That's all so recent. 

I know. When I was working at CBS, the fan art I was making was for very small artists. My first big concert graphic was for the Internet. My heart is attached to them because I said I want to do concert graphics one day, and they said, “Maybe you could do our concert graphics.” This is my eighth or ninth year of doing animations, and I feel like I'm starting to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Read: We're Probably On An Irreversible Course Into The Metaverse. What Role Will Music Play In It?

How did you get into NFTs? 

A close friend of mine started posting on SuperRare. I was like, "What is this? People are selling their digital art for crypto? That's so crazy." At this point, I was just making art for Instagram likes. Client work pays the bills, but it's not necessarily the most fun.

I thought I would dabble in NFTs. I made a piece and it got a bid within 20 minutes. I didn't even know why people would want to buy my work. Over time, I started really diving into how huge this is, how big of an opportunity this is, not only for me, but for generational wealth.

What are your thoughts about NFTs as a source of income for artists? 

I feel like for such a long time, the traditional art world was the only way to make income as an artist that allowed you to do your own passion projects and not rely on client work. Digital artists relied on big corporations to give them income.

What we've seen is an increase in how much people love digital art. The artistry of visual art is growing with the audience, who [are] seeing a lot of value in the artists. I remember my first art show: Everyone was selling actual art pieces while I was showing my work on a TV and no one could buy it. All you could do with mine was watch it and follow me on Instagram. I made that piece for free. It's so wild to think that's how it was for such a long time. But NTFs opened the door for all art mediums.

Have you found there's a learning curve with NFTs and potential consumers?

Yes, because people have a hard time wrapping their head around a non-physical object. But it's the same as spending $500 on a Fortnite skin, which is also a digital asset. It is definitely a conversation to have with people who are outside of the crypto space and NFT space, to help them understand there's a lot of value in things that aren't physical.

The NFT I did for the GRAMMYs is on the Tezos blockchain. What's cool about that is people can purchase it with a credit card or with crypto. To me, it bonds together everyday people and the NFT space. Right now, it's still pretty separate, but once NFTs become a thing you can purchase on an everyday basis, I can totally see the utility of it long-term.

Your NFT for the 64th GRAMMY Awards is your first commissioned work in a while.  

I was really excited about it because it wasn't constrained to any limitations. When I'm given rules, I always feel like I'm not living up to expectations. It definitely took a lot of pressure off of me.

Mine is an eight- or nine-second looping animation with crazy camera movement. I created three different abstract environments, with the only objects being musical instruments with my colorful, psychedelic style. It's great that I have the cinematography background because I look at things through that lens. I'm really stoked with the way it came out.

Your own NFTs aren't tied to a musical artist, which makes the fact that they're selling solely on their artistic value even more amazing. 

It's a big opportunity for me. I had been making income through my client work, and the fact that I was making additional income doing NFTs allowed me to do things that I thought would be later goals. It changed my entire life.

I had to find an equal balance between paying projects and rainbow [or passion] projects my entire career. I stopped doing client work entirely, and I'm only doing rainbow projects, which is such a crazy concept to me. One of those is my nonprofit, JumpStart Designers. I started looking into NFTs in January 2021, posted my first piece at the end of February going into March, and I started my nonprofit in June.

What are the goals for JumpStart Designers? 

Black and Brown communities aren't really in the digital art space. I think a big part of that has to do with accessibility. One of the main things with JumpStart Designers is to create access for lower-income kids … between 11 and 18 [years old]. The biggest digital artists in the NFT space started when they were 12, 13 years old. It makes sense to provide access at that age. I started when I was 15, but I was making music videos on my dad's laptop when I was 10.

How can a burgeoning digital artist connect with Jumpstart Designers? 

They would submit a 60-second video on what kind of art they want to create. That's our easy way of vetting them. Then, based on what type of art medium they want to do, we would provide them with the equipment specific to that. We would also provide curated playlists of YouTube tutorials. Our goal is to not only give them the access to equipment, but the education as well.

In the future, we want to build our own classes that would be completely free to them. It would be all of my artist friends that have blown up. Representation is so huge and it's a big part of why I wanted to do YouTube tutorials myself. When I was coming up, all I was seeing was the same people doing the same tutorials. I wanted to come in and be hyper-feminine and show my curly hair and my brown skin and say, "Look, you could do what I'm doing and I want to teach you everything."

2022 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Nominations List

GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Doja Cat & SZA Tearfully Accept Their First GRAMMYs For "Kiss Me More"
(L-R) Doja Cat and SZA at the 2022 GRAMMYs.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

video

GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Doja Cat & SZA Tearfully Accept Their First GRAMMYs For "Kiss Me More"

Relive the moment the pair's hit "Kiss Me More" took home Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, which marked the first GRAMMY win of their careers.

GRAMMYs/Mar 1, 2024 - 06:11 pm

As Doja Cat put it herself, the 2022 GRAMMYs were a "big deal" for her and SZA.

Doja Cat walked in with eight nominations, while SZA entered the ceremony with five. Three of those respective nods were for their 2021 smash "Kiss Me More," which ultimately helped the superstars win their first GRAMMYs.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, revisit the night SZA and Doja Cat accepted the golden gramophone for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance — a milestone moment that Doja Cat almost missed.

"Listen. I have never taken such a fast piss in my whole life," Doja Cat quipped after beelining to the stage. "Thank you to everybody — my family, my team. I wouldn't be here without you, and I wouldn't be here without my fans."

Before passing the mic to SZA, Doja also gave a message of appreciation to the "Kill Bill" singer: "You are everything to me. You are incredible. You are the epitome of talent. You're a lyricist. You're everything."

SZA began listing her praises for her mother, God, her supporters, and, of course, Doja Cat. "I love you! Thank you, Doja. I'm glad you made it back in time!" she teased.

"I like to downplay a lot of s— but this is a big deal," Doja tearfully concluded. "Thank you, everybody."

Press play on the video above to hear Doja Cat and SZA's complete acceptance speech for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 2022 GRAMMY Awards, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

How 'SOS' Transformed SZA Into A Superstar & Solidified Her As The Vulnerability Queen

GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Baby Keem Celebrate "Family Ties" During Best Rap Performance Win In 2022
Baby Keem (left) at the 2022 GRAMMYs.

Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

video

GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Baby Keem Celebrate "Family Ties" During Best Rap Performance Win In 2022

Revisit the moment budding rapper Baby Keem won his first-ever gramophone for Best Rap Performance at the 2022 GRAMMY Awards for his Kendrick Lamar collab "Family Ties."

GRAMMYs/Feb 23, 2024 - 05:50 pm

For Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar, The Melodic Blue was a family affair. The two cousins collaborated on three tracks from Keem's 2021 debut LP, "Range Brothers," "Vent," and "Family Ties." And in 2022, the latter helped the pair celebrate a GRAMMY victory.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, turn the clock back to the night Baby Keem accepted Best Rap Performance for "Family Ties," marking the first GRAMMY win of his career.

"Wow, nothing could prepare me for this moment," Baby Keem said at the start of his speech.

He began listing praise for his "supporting system," including his family and "the women that raised me and shaped me to become the man I am."

Before heading off the stage, he acknowledged his team, who "helped shape everything we have going on behind the scenes," including Lamar. "Thank you everybody. This is a dream."

Baby Keem received four nominations in total at the 2022 GRAMMYs. He was also up for Best New Artist, Best Rap Song, and Album Of The Year as a featured artist on Kanye West's Donda.

Press play on the video above to watch Baby Keem's complete acceptance speech for Best Rap Performance at the 2022 GRAMMYs, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

How The 2024 GRAMMYs Saw The Return Of Music Heroes & Birthed New Icons

GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016
Kendrick Lamar

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

video

GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016

Upon winning the GRAMMY for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' Kendrick Lamar thanked those that helped him get to the stage, and the artists that blazed the trail for him.

GRAMMYs/Oct 13, 2023 - 06:01 pm

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

10 Essential Facts To Know About GRAMMY-Winning Rapper J. Cole

A Guide To Modern Funk For The Dance Floor: L'Imperatrice, Shiro Schwarz, Franc Moody, Say She She & Moniquea
Franc Moody

Photo: Rachel Kupfer 

list

A Guide To Modern Funk For The Dance Floor: L'Imperatrice, Shiro Schwarz, Franc Moody, Say She She & Moniquea

James Brown changed the sound of popular music when he found the power of the one and unleashed the funk with "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." Today, funk lives on in many forms, including these exciting bands from across the world.

GRAMMYs/Nov 25, 2022 - 04:23 pm

It's rare that a genre can be traced back to a single artist or group, but for funk, that was James Brown. The Godfather of Soul coined the phrase and style of playing known as "on the one," where the first downbeat is emphasized, instead of the typical second and fourth beats in pop, soul and other styles. As David Cheal eloquently explains, playing on the one "left space for phrases and riffs, often syncopated around the beat, creating an intricate, interlocking grid which could go on and on." You know a funky bassline when you hear it; its fat chords beg your body to get up and groove.

Brown's 1965 classic, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," became one of the first funk hits, and has been endlessly sampled and covered over the years, along with his other groovy tracks. Of course, many other funk acts followed in the '60s, and the genre thrived in the '70s and '80s as the disco craze came and went, and the originators of hip-hop and house music created new music from funk and disco's strong, flexible bones built for dancing.

Legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins learned the power of the one from playing in Brown's band, and brought it to George Clinton, who created P-funk, an expansive, Afrofuturistic, psychedelic exploration of funk with his various bands and projects, including Parliament-Funkadelic. Both Collins and Clinton remain active and funkin', and have offered their timeless grooves to collabs with younger artists, including Kali Uchis, Silk Sonic, and Omar Apollo; and Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, and Thundercat, respectively.

In the 1980s, electro-funk was born when artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish, and Egyptian Lover began making futuristic beats with the Roland TR-808 drum machine — often with robotic vocals distorted through a talk box. A key distinguishing factor of electro-funk is a de-emphasis on vocals, with more phrases than choruses and verses. The sound influenced contemporaneous hip-hop, funk and electronica, along with acts around the globe, while current acts like Chromeo, DJ Stingray, and even Egyptian Lover himself keep electro-funk alive and well.

Today, funk lives in many places, with its heavy bass and syncopated grooves finding way into many nooks and crannies of music. There's nu-disco and boogie funk, nodding back to disco bands with soaring vocals and dance floor-designed instrumentation. G-funk continues to influence Los Angeles hip-hop, with innovative artists like Dam-Funk and Channel Tres bringing the funk and G-funk, into electro territory. Funk and disco-centered '70s revival is definitely having a moment, with acts like Ghost Funk Orchestra and Parcels, while its sparkly sprinklings can be heard in pop from Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, and, in full "Soul Train" character, Silk Sonic. There are also acts making dreamy, atmospheric music with a solid dose of funk, such as Khruangbin’s global sonic collage.

There are many bands that play heavily with funk, creating lush grooves designed to get you moving. Read on for a taste of five current modern funk and nu-disco artists making band-led uptempo funk built for the dance floor. Be sure to press play on the Spotify playlist above, and check out GRAMMY.com's playlist on Apple Music, Amazon Music and Pandora.

Say She She

Aptly self-described as "discodelic soul," Brooklyn-based seven-piece Say She She make dreamy, operatic funk, led by singer-songwriters Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham. Their '70s girl group-inspired vocal harmonies echo, sooth and enchant as they cover poignant topics with feminist flair.

While they’ve been active in the New York scene for a few years, they’ve gained wider acclaim for the irresistible music they began releasing this year, including their debut album, Prism. Their 2022 debut single "Forget Me Not" is an ode to ground-breaking New York art collective Guerilla Girls, and "Norma" is their protest anthem in response to the news that Roe vs. Wade could be (and was) overturned. The band name is a nod to funk legend Nile Rodgers, from the "Le freak, c'est chi" exclamation in Chic's legendary tune "Le Freak."

Moniquea

Moniquea's unique voice oozes confidence, yet invites you in to dance with her to the super funky boogie rhythms. The Pasadena, California artist was raised on funk music; her mom was in a cover band that would play classics like Aretha Franklin’s "Get It Right" and Gladys Knight’s "Love Overboard." Moniquea released her first boogie funk track at 20 and, in 2011, met local producer XL Middelton — a bonafide purveyor of funk. She's been a star artist on his MoFunk Records ever since, and they've collabed on countless tracks, channeling West Coast energy with a heavy dose of G-funk, sunny lyrics and upbeat, roller disco-ready rhythms.

Her latest release is an upbeat nod to classic West Coast funk, produced by Middleton, and follows her February 2022 groovy, collab-filled album, On Repeat.

Shiro Schwarz

Shiro Schwarz is a Mexico City-based duo, consisting of Pammela Rojas and Rafael Marfil, who helped establish a modern funk scene in the richly creative Mexican metropolis. On "Electrify" — originally released in 2016 on Fat Beats Records and reissued in 2021 by MoFunk — Shiro Schwarz's vocals playfully contrast each other, floating over an insistent, upbeat bassline and an '80s throwback electro-funk rhythm with synth flourishes.

Their music manages to be both nostalgic and futuristic — and impossible to sit still to. 2021 single "Be Kind" is sweet, mellow and groovy, perfect chic lounge funk. Shiro Schwarz’s latest track, the joyfully nostalgic "Hey DJ," is a collab with funkstress Saucy Lady and U-Key.

L'Impératrice

L'Impératrice (the empress in French) are a six-piece Parisian group serving an infectiously joyful blend of French pop, nu-disco, funk and psychedelia. Flore Benguigui's vocals are light and dreamy, yet commanding of your attention, while lyrics have a feminist touch.

During their energetic live sets, L'Impératrice members Charles de Boisseguin and Hagni Gwon (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), and Tom Daveau (drums) deliver extended instrumental jam sessions to expand and connect their music. Gaugué emphasizes the thick funky bass, and Benguigui jumps around the stage while sounding like an angel. L’Impératrice’s latest album, 2021’s Tako Tsubo, is a sunny, playful French disco journey.

Franc Moody

Franc Moody's bio fittingly describes their music as "a soul funk and cosmic disco sound." The London outfit was birthed by friends Ned Franc and Jon Moody in the early 2010s, when they were living together and throwing parties in North London's warehouse scene. In 2017, the group grew to six members, including singer and multi-instrumentalist Amber-Simone.

Their music feels at home with other electro-pop bands like fellow Londoners Jungle and Aussie act Parcels. While much of it is upbeat and euphoric, Franc Moody also dips into the more chilled, dreamy realm, such as the vibey, sultry title track from their recently released Into the Ether.

The Rise Of Underground House: How Artists Like Fisher & Acraze Have Taken Tech House, Other Electronic Genres From Indie To EDC