When you think of where the next big thing in Hip Hop may come from (as Brooklyn have with Joey Bada$$ or Compton youth have with Kendrick Lamar), Boston may be one of the last places that come to mind because of many reasons; it’s been a tough city for many talented Hip Hop artists to come up and get mass attention. Thank the internet(s) and hunger – this is changing. Case in point, Dorchester, MA stand up!, you can now celebrate Cousin Stizz. With no aspiration to pursue a music career, his rough upbringing was taking him in a different direction. Thankfully he connected with some Boston good guys who he now considers his brothers, Manager Tim Larew, Videographer Goodwin and another M.C. making noise and about to blow Michael Christmas that he met at a local event where the cool kids hung out called, “12 for 12” Cypher series. This convinced him to pursue music.
His Debut mixtape, Suffolk County caught the attention of millions of Hip Hop heads including a Drake-approved co-sign and caught the attention of many record labels. Cousin continued to build a strong fan base locally and sold out shows at the same venues who once tried to charge him to perform.
Now with his city on his back, Cousin Stizz’s One Night Only album is another honest, authentic story telling hip hop for the soul album.
“I’m Cousin Stizz, but at the end of the day, I’m little Stizzy to everybody else that really knows me. I’m just finding the balance in that and trying to make people understand that it doesn’t happen where I’m from,” he says. “I gotta let people know and understand that I’m doing this and it’s happening but I’m always going to be the same kid I’ve always been.”
This album gets the SNC Steal of Approval. Cop it!
