TOMMY RUSH—ALSO KNOWN AS THOMAS MIKAILIN—HAS STEADILY EMERGED AS A GO-TO COLLABORATOR FOR SOME OF TODAY’S MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS. MENTORED BY MIKE DEAN, THE OWNER OF M.W.A MUSIC, RUSH HAS CONTRIBUTED TO BILLBOARD-CHARTING, PLATINUM-CERTIFIED WORK FOR KANYE WEST, TRAVIS SCOTT, THE WEEKND, MADONNA, AND BEYONCÉ.
GROWING UP AMID A FAMILY OF MUSICIANS—HIS FATHER ON GUITAR, HIS MOTHER ON PIANO, AND HIS GRANDMOTHER PERFORMING IN THEATER—RUSH WAS SURROUNDED BY MELODIES FROM AN EARLY AGE. DURING HIS EARLY TEENS, HE SET UP A BASEMENT STUDIO, RECORDED BANDS, AND TAUGHT HIMSELF EVERY FACET OF PRODUCTION. AFTER ATTENDING UNIVERSITY, A BRIEF DETOUR IN ADVERTISING (COCA-COLA, MONDELEZ, SUNTORY) HELPED REFINE HIS MARKETING SENSE, BUT MUSIC REMAINED HIS PRIORITY.
RUSH BEGAN WORKING WITH MIKE DEAN A LITTLE BEFORE DEAN’S 4:20 ERA, AND HE SOON FOUND HIMSELF CONTRIBUTING TO MAJOR PROJECTS LIKE KANYE WEST'S DONDA, CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS’ PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE—WHERE THE SINGLE “FULL OF LIFE” REACHED GLOBAL VIEWERS VIA AMAZON PRIME’S “CONCRETE JUNGLE” COMMERCIAL. HE ALSO ASSISTED DEAN, YE AND DRAKE AT THE FREE HOOVER CONCERT BEFORE JOINING JAY-Z’S ROC NATION X MONCLER “ART OF GENIUS” EVENT, WHERE HE HANDLED LIVE VOCAL ENGINEERING ON-SITE AND MODELED THE BRAND’S CLOTHING.
ADDITIONALLY, RUSH CO-WROTE AND CO-PRODUCED MIKE DEAN’S 4:23, HELPING SHAPE THE ALBUM’S SOUND. HE THEN WORKED ON “POPULAR,” A BILLBOARD-CHARTING, BILLION-STREAM SINGLE FEATURING THE WEEKND, MADONNA, PLAYBOI CARTI, METRO BOOMIN, AND SAM LEVINSON, CEMENTING ITS PLATINUM STATUS. AROUND THIS PERIOD, RUSH TEAMED WITH TRAVIS SCOTT AND DEAN TO REVITALIZE DAYS BEFORE RODEO, REINTRODUCING THE MIXTAPE TO THE BILLBOARD SPOTLIGHT.
A SKILLED DOLBY ATMOS ENGINEER, RUSH HAS MIXED HUNDREDS OF TRACKS IN THE IMMERSIVE FORMAT—FROM BEYONCÉ’S RENAISSANCE TO MADONNA’S THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION AND TRAVIS SCOTT’S UTOPIA. HE ALSO APPEARED ON HBO’S THE IDOL—ALONGSIDE MIKE DEAN—AUTHENTICALLY SETTING UP A STUDIO AND WORKING WITH LILY-ROSE DEPP’S CHARACTER, JOCELYN, IN THE SHOW. RUSH FOLLOWED THIS WITH WORK ON BEYONCÉ’S RENAISSANCE FILM AND CONTRIBUTED A CREATIVE NARRATION TO MIKE DEAN’S 4:24.
IN AUGUST 2024, RUSH SIGNED A CO-PUBLISHING DEAL WITH SONY MUSIC AND M.W.A MUSIC PUBLISHING, REFLECTING HIS GROWING IMPACT IN THE INDUSTRY. HE HAS PERFORMED AND TRAVELED EXTENSIVELY ALONGSIDE MIKE DEAN AND THE WEEKND—TOURING ACROSS THE U.S., CANADA, EUROPE, MEXICO, SOUTH AMERICA, AND AUSTRALIA—AND CONTINUES TO CHAMPION WELL-CRAFTED MUSIC THAT RESONATES WITH BOTH PEERS AND LISTENERS WORLDWIDE.