LaRussell spent his middle school afternoons watching rap battles on YouTube and videos of artists like Ryan Leslie and Kanye making beats. He started searching for sound packs, experimenting with different samples and watching tutorials on music production.

One day, while LaRussell was on the computer, his sister's boyfriend noticed his interest and introduced him to a program called FL Studio. He taught LaRussell the basics of beat-making, and from that point on, LaRussell began honing his craft.

LaRussell began rapping under the name "Tota" or "Tota Shakur" when he started at Jesse Bethel High School in 2008. He started doing rap battles in the bathroom and behind the portable classrooms. After a few battles, no one wanted to challenge him anymore.

He formed a group with his friends called "MTL," which stood for "More To Life, More To Love, More To Live For." The group made music and also filmed lifestyle blogs. LaRussell's dad had taught him how to burn CDs, and he used this knowledge to release his first mixtape, "MTL."

LaRussell transferred to People’s High School, a continuation school that LaRussell described as a "pre-juvenile detention center." The shorter days allowed LaRussell more time to invest in himself and his music.

LaRussell released his second mixtape. Around the same time, LaRussell received news that would change his life forever. At the age of 17, he learned that he was going to be a father.

LaRussell graduated high school in 2012, and shortly after, his daughter was born. He got a job at UPS and continued to work on his music. He asked Chow, who received his mixtape at People's High School, to learn how to engineer for him. Chow joined his team in 2013.

In 2014, LaRussell met Tessie, a singer from Vallejo, and the two began practicing in his garage, creating music together under the name "Best Friends." Later, they transitioned to a new name, "We Are You," and released a couple of music videos.

By the end of 2017, Tessie and LaRussell had a personal dispute and split. LaRussell continued working on his music with Chow. He shared his vision for Good Compenny with his high school friend Milli, who joined the team to help out wherever she was needed.

At the beginning of 2018, LaRussell released his first album, "Field Effect." Afternoons were spent practicing in his garage. During this time, he reconnected with Tessie, and they started making music together again. It was around this time when they began to experiment with analytics and content creation.

LaRussell threw his first show at the Empress Theatre, with the help of Good Compenny and his family. He saved his earnings, and his dad contributed to the cost. The audience mainly comprised friends, family, and the community that had grown organically around him. Despite it being his first concert, he killed iit. During the show, he announced his second album, "Never Forget Who You Are."

In 2019, LaRussell quit his job to focus entirely on Good Compenny. He started expanding the team, adding artists, videographers and DJs to his team.

He started the mixtape series GCU, which featured artists from around the Bay Area and wrote "Feel Trip," an album for Tessie, which quickly gained traction. Tessie and LaRussell started doing concerts all over California, meeting people and learning about the business of touring.

Using the momentum from their albums, Good Compenny continued to put on shows, traveling all over the Bay Area, including Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Jose, and shooting content in different Airbnb locations.

LaRussell and Tessie's content started to go viral. Their cover of "The Way" went viral on Twitter, and LaRussell's video for "What You Done Done," which featured him lying in a field of purple flowers, also gained popularity.

By the end of 2019, with a larger team and the momentum from "Field Trip," LaRussell and Good Compenny were gearing up for their biggest year yet.

Then COVID hit. In the middle of the year, LaRussell released his first album, "Silence Won't Save You," under his real name. The album was personal, and it felt right to use his given name. Later, he released "Field Effect 2" to round out the end of 2020, which included his viral hit "Do That Little Dance You Be Doing."

In December of 2020, LaRussell started the GC Live Sessions, a series of videos featuring artists performing. During the pandemic, LaRussell spent much of his time making music and recording live sessions whenever possible. He connected with other artists throughout the process and, by the end of 2020, he met Tope, a producer from Portland. He started to feel a resurgence of energy.

LaRussell kicked off 2021 by releasing his 2021 Freestyle, which went viral. In April, he boosted the post to Rap Marathon, and it received an overwhelmingly positive response. This prompted him to start a 30-day run, posting content every single day.

This year marked a significant change for LaRussell. Good Compenny became an official 501 (3)(c) Tietta, his social media manager, joined the team, and he began working with Tope to create music. Tope and LaRussell released "Marlin 7" in August of 2021 and before the year ended, LaRussell dropped six more albums. Along the way, Tietta was going all-in on the Good Compenny content and LaRussell’s base was beginning to grow in ways it hadn’t before.

In 2021, LaRussell received his first record deal offer, but turned it down.

The pace that LaRussell set in 2021 continued throughout 2022. He released nine projects and his follower count grew to over 700k on Instagram alone. He appeared on The Breakfast Club. The Pergola was built in his backyard in June of 2022 and hosted his first backyard show. He was invited to Revolt Fest and everyone was asking him about the backyard concerts. His songs "Baggage Claim" and "Again" were on the radio and featured on ESPN. He also added several live musicians to his shows, was touring more, putting out a bunch of merch and other content. LaRussell continued to go viral weekly, if not daily.