Backpack Kid Is Alive

ORIGIN
Backpack Kid is an American dancer, rapper, and social media personality. He became a viral sensation for his “Floss” dance while wearing a backpack. As a hip-hop/rap artist, he’s known for songs like “Drip On Boat” and “Flossin” with DJ Suede The Remix God. His debut EP, Swag Pack Kid, was released in December 2018. He’s worked with Blac Youngsta and Ayo & Teo among others. Backpack Kid was born Russell Horning on December 19, 2001, in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He grew up alongside a younger sister named Jill. He has two older brothers. His mother, Anetta, serves as his manager.

CAREER
Horning’s Instagram account “Majestic Cat Lover” was created back in 2014. The bulk of his early uploads were short clips of him dancing. He would eventually change the account to “i_got_barzz” and later to “thebackpackkid”. His first time performing the “Flossing” dance was at a summer camp in June 2014. The dance is done by swinging your arms from side to side around the body while simultaneously shaking the hips and maintaining a deadpan facial expression. In December 2016, Horning’s popularity skyrocketed after Rihanna posted a video of him dancing to her Instagram page. The video clip didn’t disappoint, clocking in over 8 million views to date. The exposure led to thousands of new Instagram followers for Horning.

The “Backpack Kid” moniker became a household name following a May 2017 performance on Saturday Night Live. He performed his iconic dance alongside Katy Perry in support of Perry’s new single “Swish Swish.” He was also featured in the song’s official video, directed by Dave Meyers. It has been viewed more than 508 million times. The Backpack Kid appeared in the music video for “Rolex” by dance duo Ayo & Teo. He showcased his dance moves once again in Blac Youngsta’s “Hip Hopper” video. He did a video with Roy Purdy title “In New York I Milly Rock.”

Horning got into hip-hop and rap music thanks to dancing. He cites Ayo & Teo, Young Swag, and King Imprint as some of his early inspirations. After a few music video appearances, he started making his own music. The Backpack Kid’s debut single “Flossin” was released in November 2017 by Fast Life World Wide. It featured DJ Suede The Remix God. The supporting music video has 3.7+ million views. Backpack Kid followed up with singles “Stay Fresh” and “2 Litt” with Swaghollywood. His debut EP, SwagPack Kid, was released in December by Winmore. The track-list includes “By Myself”, “Have a Nice Day” with Ant Beale, “Drip on Boat” with Swaghollywood, and “Too Young” featuring Yung Baby Tate.

Horning was featured in a 2018 episode of Inside Edition titled “The Return of Backpack Kid.” He appeared at the 2018 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. His television credits also include “Sunday NFL Countdown” and “All New Double Dare.” Horning won the 2018 Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Dance Trend. His accolades include the 2018 Shorty Award for Best in Dance.

PERSONAL
Backpack Kid is about 5ft 7in tall and he’s a Sagittarius. His net worth is estimated at $500 thousand. He promotes exclusively Sprayground backpacks. Horning has 2.3+ million followers on Instagram and 24K+ monthly listeners on Spotify. Outside of dancing/music, he enjoys playing video games and hanging out with friends. Growing up, he played football until he suffered a sprained finger.

In December 2018, Horning opened a lawsuit against Epic Games and Take Two Interactive for using his signature dance in Fortnite and NBA 2K respectively. Actor Alfonso Ribeiro is another celebrity suing the two games, in his case for the “Carlton” dance.

Backpack Kid Bio, Net Worth, Height