48 Facts About Russel Hobbs

Russel Hobbs is a fictional American musician and member of the British virtual band Gorillaz.

Russel Hobbs provides the drums and percussion for the band.

Russel Hobbs was originally conceptualized by Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn in 1998 as a metafictional representation of the hip hop aspects of Gorillaz, embodying the spirit of the bands' collaborations with various rappers over the years.

Russel Hobbs is referenced in the lyrics to the Gorillaz track "Clint Eastwood".

Russel Hobbs was originally inspired by Hewlett's love for hip hop artists like Ice Cube.

Russel Hobbs was born on 3 June 1975 in Brooklyn, New York, United States.

Originally from Brooklyn, Russel Hobbs has experienced paranormal activity since his childhood.

Terrified, Russel Hobbs closed his eyes and held tightly onto his blanket, and once he opened them, everything appeared to be back to normal, and he was with his parents on a train back home.

Russel Hobbs became a member of Gorillaz after being kidnapped by bassist Murdoc Niccals and taken away to the newly bought Kong Studios while working at a record store called Big Rick Black's Record Shop in Soho, London.

Russel Hobbs then became a member of Gorillaz shortly thereafter, taking on the role of the band's drummer.

Russel Hobbs then went on a journey to confront his inner demons and was absent for Gorillaz' live performance at the Apollo Theater.

Russel Hobbs is shown arriving on Plastic Beach with Noodle in the storyboard for the scrapped "Rhinestone Eyes" music video, after finding her in the music video for "On Melancholy Hill".

Russel Hobbs had little-to-no spoken dialogue in the Plastic Beach era of Gorillaz.

In Gorillaz' 2016 interactive short story "The Book of Russel Hobbs", it was revealed that after the events at Plastic Beach, Russel Hobbs was mistaken for a whale and was harpooned off the coast of Japan.

Russel Hobbs managed to get away, but lost Noodle in the process.

Russel Hobbs was then captured by the North Korean government and declared a Pulgasari, becoming an attraction at a North Korean amusement park.

North Korea's food rations eventually caused Russel Hobbs to shrink back to his normal size and he's stayed mostly normal sized ever since.

On 4 October 2019, Russel Hobbs sent out a postcard to the band from Mexico while they were all on vacation in different areas across the world.

Russel Hobbs mentioned that he had recently started his own hot sauce business called Hobbs Hot Sauce and was hoping to see them soon, making reference to parts of a machine that the band were gathering that would later be revealed as the Song Machine, the latest audiovisual project from Gorillaz.

In Song Machine, Russel Hobbs is the one responsible for gathering most of the artists to and from Kong Studios through its portals, as he did with 6lack in "The Pink Phantom".

Russel Hobbs is a heavy set African American character known for his large size and considerable weight.

Russel Hobbs's height is 5 feet 9 inches tall, or 1.75 meters.

In Gorillaz' 2016 interactive short story "The Book of Russel Hobbs", it was revealed that Russel Hobbs shrunk back to his regular size while in North Korea due to the country's meager food rations and he has been normal sized ever since.

Russel Hobbs's eyes are a completely milky white color and have no visible pupils due to being possessed by spirits.

Russel Hobbs is often depicted wearing a fez hat, with the first appearance of this being in the music video for "Dirty Harry" in 2005.

Russel Hobbs is sometimes designed wearing an eyepatch or a visor.

Originally in his mid-to-late 20s when Gorillaz was first released, Russel Hobbs is in his 40s.

Russel Hobbs has been designed in many different outfits throughout the years and his clothes change regularly, unlike most cartoon characters.

Russel Hobbs is wise and intelligent, with a wide range of knowledge about many subjects, especially music.

Russel Hobbs is said to have once engineered his own device called the Hip-hop machine, a drum machine that is said to be able to play every beat known to man.

Russel Hobbs is respectful and articulate, with an extensive vocabulary and good manners.

Russel Hobbs is loyal and has been shown to hate disloyalty from others.

Russel Hobbs has been shown to be highly protective of those he cares about, especially 2-D and Noodle, although he has shown a dislike for Murdoc.

Russel Hobbs is generally cool, calm and collected, but has shown a pattern of mental health issues and has displayed a high tendency to exhibit paranoia, experiencing many mental breakdowns throughout his life.

Russel Hobbs is passionate about social justice and human rights, sometimes reflecting on issues that affect the oppressed and disenfranchised.

The wardrobe that Russel Hobbs wore in Humanz was inspired by that of the Black Panther Party and the Sandinista National Liberation Front.

Russel Hobbs has been hinted at as being an associate of the African-American centered religious movement The Nation of Islam.

Russel Hobbs has listed the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan as an influence in interviews and spoken highly of Malcolm X Russel Hobbs has been shown wearing various fezzes, which has historically been considered a symbol of devotion to Islam.

Russel Hobbs is often shown sleeping or entranced in Gorillaz videos.

In "Strobelite", Russel Hobbs is shown sleeping on the couch at the beginning of the video.

Russel Hobbs is usually depicted as dazed and enchanted when drumming, especially when a spirit inside of him has been channeled.

In Demon Days, Russel Hobbs was portrayed as being a taxidermist, often shown with dead animals by his side in many images from this era.

Russel Hobbs briefly appeared in 2-D and Murdoc's 2017 interview with Telekom Electronic Beats through a phone call in which he makes accusatory claims towards 2-D and Murdoc.

Russel Hobbs speaks in a Brooklyn accent and frequently uses hip-hop lingo.

Co-creator Jamie Hewlett originally envisioned Russel Hobbs as having a much stronger British accent, but this was discouraged by co-creator Damon Albarn, who wanted him to speak in an American accent in order to better appeal to American audiences.

Russel Hobbs's voice is low, deep, and soft, and he seldom raises his tone unless it is necessary.

Russel Hobbs was not present for the recording of the album Plastic Beach, with Murdoc replacing him with a drum machine for the album.

Russel Hobbs has been the in-universe selector of the collaborators for the band since Humanz in 2017.