For decades, white nationalists have used music as a tool to spread their hateful beliefs. In January 2022, the white supremacist Rise Above Movement (R.A.M.) and group leader Robert Rundo announced the creation of Will2Rise Records, a music production company catering to white supremacist artists.
In recent years, following the 2018 arrest of key group members that resulted in Rundo fleeing to Eastern Europe, R.A.M. has struggled to maintain relevance in the white supremacist sphere. As part of these efforts to regain prominence, R.A.M. launched their online merchandise arm, Will2Rise, in 2019, and in the summer of 2020 launched Media2Rise, a white supremacist media company that documents white nationalist events across the United States and Europe. Will2Rise Records represents yet another attempt by the group to mainstream and monetize their ideology.
Rundo spoke about the strategy behind the creation of Will2Rise Records in a February 2022 blog post, arguing the potential and importance of “a truly sophisticated guerilla marketing campaign” that tactically targets active, young white people – at hockey games, NASCAR races, MMA tournaments and motocross courses.
