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Guitar World
Guitar World
Entertainment
Nick Wells

“I’m the first bass player to ever MD a stadium tour like this. We make history every night”: As Musical Director for Kendrick Lamar, Tony Russell could be the greatest bass player you've never heard of

Kendrick Lamar Bass Player Usher Jamie Foxx Marcus Miller JayZ Nathan East R Kelly
Tony 'Chicago' Russell .

“The biggest challenge with this gig is making sure that everything runs like clockwork,” says Tony Russell of his role as both bass player and MD of Kendrick Lamar’s live show. “I’m the first bass player to ever MD a stadium tour like this. It’s just the playback engineer and me, but we make history every night.”

On February 9th 2025, having taken home five Grammys a week prior, rapper Kendrick Lamar graced the world with the most-viewed halftime show in Super Bowl history, reaching an audience of 133.5 million.

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