On his debut album "Black Cotton", Hayward, California based rapper Russell City attempts to show the world who he is. Will Russell City be just another one hit Bay Area artist or does "Black Cotton" have staying power? The first single off of "Black Cotton" is the underground success "I'm From Hayward". The song has no features and trademarks a Dr. Dre style west coast beat produced by I.N.F.O. who has worked with some of the top artist in the music industry. The song is very catchy and has created a local buzz in the city of Hayward, California. After just two months on youtube.com and with little to know marketing the video for "I'm From Hayward" got 20,000 views. For an unknown rap artist from the Bay Area this is a huge accomplishment. If you live in the Bay Area you have probably noticed that everyone you meet is some type of wannabe rapper. Most have video's and myspace.com's but none are getting the attention Russell City is getting from this one song. Part is due to the fact that most Bay Area rappers come off very corny and sometimes lame. Like cheap imitations of legendary rapper’s like Mac Dre or E-40. Before Russell City, there are very few rapper's from Hayward that got any credit for being talented lyricist with some street creditability. In the Bay Area you won't make it in the rap game without both factors and many believe Russell City has both. Black Cotton as an album is much more than his single "I'm From Hayward". It's a diverse and sophisticated album that has influences from all different regions of American Hip Hop. From old school sounds on "Puppet" to new school sounds on "Do You" where Russell rapped his verse's with Auto Tune but left the singing by Tiffany Bradford all natural. Russell showed off his story telling talent on “Go To College”. The song takes a unique point of view about the sinister side of kids in college that somewhat echo’s the views of Kanye West. On the song “Little Girl” Russell City speaks on the socially sexist views by men against women and admits to being got another man calling a female a b**ch. But admits, “I don’t know what you have been through and I can’t judge you.” A song like this separates Russell City from the simple minded Hyphy rapper that the Bay Area is flooded with. Russell is truly a deep soul that has something to say. There are many things to love and like about this album and I believe it is a Bay Area classic in the making. Russell City, who was is named after an unincorporated community in Alameda County, California, United States, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Oakland in present-day Hayward, choose his name because he believes in his city and the musical history it contains. After World War II many flocked to the San Francisco Bay Area, during which, Russell City attracted many African Americans from the Deep South. It is now remembered for its influential Blues scene. Some claim that this is where the West Coast Blues had evolved from Delta Blues. Steven Chasten "rap-reviews.com"