San Diego-based rapper Ruslan is a hip-hop artist known for his positive, spiritually minded productions. Born Ruslan Karaoglanov to Armenian parents in Baku, Azerbaijan, Ruslan was a child when he immigrated with his family to the United States in 1990 to escape religious persecution after an ethnic conflict broke out in the wake of tensions between the dissolving Soviet Union and the Azerbaijan government. Settling in San Diego, Ruslan became interested in hip-hop around age eight, and by his teens he was performing his own raps on-stage. In 2010 he released Right Out Loud (The Prequel EP), followed in 2013 by his full-length debut, Carry On, on Kings Dream. Around the same time, he formed the hip-hop group Dream Junkies with fellow rappers Beleaf and John Givez. The group's debut album, 2016's Good Religion, registered on Billboard's R&B, rap, independent, and Heatseekers charts. Also in 2016, Ruslan released his sophomore solo album, Americana, which featured appearances from Givez and Beleaf, as well as Joey Jewish, Abiv, and Sarah Juers. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi