The official page of BRUUS. Chi-town. Chiraq. The Second City. Hughes was born & raised on the north side of Chicago.
These are all nicknames for the world famous (or infamous) city Chicago, the metropolitan hub of the Midwest region of the United States; and also the birthplace of artist/producer Chris Hughes, better known to all as BRUUS, an acronym that stands for Bringing Reality Uncut Utilizing Sounds. This side was not necessarily readily associated with the media's perception of violence & drugs as are the
south & west sides of the city, except for one area: Cabrini-Green. Though not having spent his childhood in what is known as the most infamous projects in American history, he spent his adolescence there and grew up quickly. It was here where his hobby of rhyming words would ferment into what he knew would become a career. Hughes took an interest in rap since a child. Having cited The Geto Boys "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" as the first song he remembered that he really liked, he would later dabble in high school, participating in battles & talent shows. In the span of 2 years, his mentor was murdered, 2 of his best friends died from various circumstances, and the rest of his friends were incarcerated. Also, he started a long battle with homelessness. It is from these experiences in which his inspiration came from and still continues to drive him today. He honed both his lyrical & production skills as a way to keep himself from ending up dead or in jail, but noticed that the industry played by the same hard rules. In 2010, Hughes had 6 label meetings, all with different record companies who expressed interest. All 6 backed out as a result of changing times within industry protocol. He used this to motivate himself and won Video Of The Year at the Underground Music Awards with his first release "I'm Raw". The following year he released his first full-length project "Pain On Wax", then followed that up with the "Grown Man Sport" series. Hughes hadn't accomplished what he set out to do with those projects and set to relocate to Los Angeles for a fresh start, only to return to Chicago which was in the midst of national attention for the first time in its history. He refocused, landed placements with many notable local artists, placed music in the comedy "White T" and in 2013, released the critically-acclaimed "The Awakening Giant" symbolizing his feeling that he's been overlooked. His sound has been said to contain a controlled aggression, extremely clever wordplay with a sarcastic humor underneath. BRUUS is planning to release another project "Midnites & Yidnyke" soon, which he says will be his "grand stroke". If there's one thing he exemplifies, it's the underdog, never-say-die attitude. He can be introspective one minute, yet very aggressive the next. He can come off cocky, yet intelligent and sensitive the next minute. Given these traits, there isn't a box that one could put him in except of course, hip hop.
