As an adolescent, Sacramento’s own Harris Rudman would often get in trouble with his mother waking up for school with headphones still blasting from his Walkman.
Immersed in the sounds of Eminem and 50 Cent, an early passion for hip-hop shaped Rudman, who would later turn that love into a music career.
Rudman said he came of age when rap was really popular. He said he was an "impressionable kid,” and what drew him to hip-hop was the lyrics.
“I always had to think with language and words, and that's what really resonated with me, from a young age,” Rudman said. “The rap, the storytelling, the cleverness, the puzzles, like everything people could do with words. That was really interesting, cool, and unique for me. I wanted to be cool. I wanted to be a f—ing rapper.”
Rudman grew up and lived in Sacramento for most of his life before attending college at the University Texas, Austin, where he studied music. Harris has been making music for the last 15 years, creating several albums and Extended Plays, often with producer Brian Lentz.
He describes his music as a fusion of East Coast production with a West Coast perspective, often characterized by a stream-of-consciousness approach. Harris has performed many times in Sacramento, including at Concerts in the Park, and has over 20,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
“I kind of just do whatever feels right. Sometimes I sing on beats that people will probably rap on,” he said. “I think I evolve in my own ways. But I like to make music with the same kind of feel and production for a long time.”
Rudman's journey
Rudman said growing up in Sacramento was really interesting, with an eclectic genre of music the city produces, namely Cake, Deftones and Death Grips. He also mentioned Sacramento rappers C-BO and X-Raided.
“I feel like I kind of grew up with all of that, mixed together,” Rudman said. “So I'd say that my environment was definitely influential for me, but it just felt normal. Those were the normal cultural touchstones growing up of what was interesting and cool.”
By the time he was in high school, Rudman said he would frequently freestyle with all his friends at parties.
He left for college in Texas in the early 2010s, pointing to the music scene as the reason for his decision.
Rudman was making music in college and created an album. He then returned to Sacramento after his first year and, over the years, began to build his social circle within the local music scene.
That led him to producer Brian Lentz, who is also from Sacramento. Together, Lentz and Rudman have created six projects, which include two EPs.
“I do mostly everything with him,” Rudman said. “I think we'll always make music together unless we get really rich and the money f—s up our relationship.”
According to Lentz, he and Rudman bonded over their shared love of basketball and music, which quickly made them friends.
Their dynamic of producer and rapper was strengthened by mutual trust and respect. Lentz said collaborating with Rudman creates a cohesive sound.
“I feel like a lot of my favorite rap albums have either one producer, like three at most,” Lentz said. “I feel like it just builds like a certain chemistry and just paints like a bigger picture.”
Some of Lentz and Rudman’s projects include “Missing Document,” which was recorded in Paris, France, and “Good Days and Bad Dreams” which was recorded in Spain.
Lentz and Rudman are currently working on a “love album” featuring all singing songs that will be released this fall. He released the song "February" earlier this year that will be on the forthcoming album.
“That album is pretty much done, and it's, actually, this is the first time we've ever done this,” Rudman said about creating an album with just singing. “We've talked about this for a long time, but it's a love album, and a lot of the songs are like February.”
Rudman said the forthcoming album will feature at least 14 tracks and two features.
Artistry in motion
Over the Summer, Rudman was one of the 30 plus artists who had the opportunity to perform at Concerts in the Park—his second time. Rudman opened up for Xhibit.
He said it was his first time performing an event since last February where he threw a Valentine’s themed show he called “Love Town.”
“Doing [Love Town] and then doing Concerts in the Park a few months later, that was good,” he said. “It felt really good to kind of get back in the mix and perform a lot of my newer music.”
Rudman was also a part of the cancelled Sol Blume lineup, which was supposed to take place in August 2025.
According to Rudman, he has no idea what happened with Sol Blume, but if they were to return, he would love to perform at the festival.
“It’s a confusing situation, for sure, but I was excited,” he said. “The last time I kind of heard any official word was just around the time that it got, you know, postponed. I guess my first reaction is feeling [bad] for our people here, and people traveling here, because it's a great showcase for the city.”
After recording music for 15 years, Rudman said he doesn’t have a plan when recording music. He said if something speaks to him, he lays it all out over the microphone.
“I think it's big guiding principle making music for a long time, that if you're not making what you like and what you want, then there's no f—g point,” he said “I feel like that's kind of what we abide by.”
Rudman’s advice for artists who want to start making music is to be a fan of the music that you’re creating.
“I would say you have to do what you need to do to find your voice,” Rudman said. “Something that has been very fulfilling for me is deciding what you care about and what you like music-wise. Then find people around you that you align with, and just cook up, just make as much music as you can.”
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