Biography

Singer, vlogger, actor, and internet personality Rudy Mancuso rose to social media fame in the mid-2010s via his extremely popular comedic videos on the short-form video platform Vine. Known for mocking cultural stereotypes with his offbeat character sketches, Mancuso parlayed his Vine success into a widely followed YouTube channel in 2016 and also began releasing songs like the Maia Mitchell collaboration "Magic" and the solo track "Mama." Born and raised in New Jersey to an Italian-American father and Brazilian mother, spoofs on various cultural heritages (including his own) would eventually play into many of his videos. Attracted to music at a young age, Mancuso was turned on to Vine by a friend and began uploading his comedy sketches in early 2013. By the time Vine was discontinued in 2016, he had become one of the platforms leading stars with over ten-million followers and had even made a 2015 appearance on Comedy Central's Drunk History. Switching his operation over to YouTube, he partnered with Los Angeles-based Shots Studios and began creating longer-form videos with a bigger budget and building up a significant following. Though singing was often a feature of his videos, Mancuso officially began releasing music in 2017 with the Poo Bear collaboration, "Black & White." That same year he was pegged by Justin Bieber to open the Brazilian leg of his Latin America tour. His second single, "Magic." was a duet with actress Maia Mitchell, which appeared in early 2018. A pair of solo singles, "Mama" and "Lento," appeared later that year. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi