Is Cozz Hip Hop's Hidden Gem?

Any fan of both rap and hip hop no that it’s no surprise when you hear of a new artist coming out of Southern California. Over the course of the genre’s history, we’ve seen pioneers like Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, and The Game not only put Los Angeles on the map, but become a major part in influencing the industry we know today.

Artists like Kendrick and the rest of Black Hippy, Vince Staples, Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler have been hailed as the modern day leaders in the west coast scene, but now there’s another City of Angels rapper is starting to take flight in his career and he’s one that every Hip Hop Head should take notice in: Cody “Cozz” Osagie.

Signed to the Dreamville label in 2014, Cozz has slowly, but consistently started to gain attention since. His debut album on the label, Cozz and Effect, dropped the same year as his signing and quickly piqued his listeners’ interest. Songs like “Dreams”, “Come Get It”, and “Knock the Hustle” showed Cozz’s clear and insatiable hunger to become the next L.A. legend.

Osagie’s second mixtape, Nothing Personal, again dropped with an overall well received reaction, but it was evident that he would have to evolve his abilities if he wanted to be considered on the same plain as the other Los Angeles greats.

Then Cozz dropped Effected, and his growth as an artist really started show in his sophomore release. From the 90’s rap reminiscent song “Effected”, to the smooth lyrics examining Osagie’s love life on “Freaky 45”, and the relatable message of “Demons and Distractions”, it's clear Cozz is determined to not quietly fade from the rap game.

If you want proof that this is just the beginning of a long and successful career, listen to “Hustla’s Story” which featured Kendrick Lamar and “Zendaya” which featured Dreamville founder J. Cole. These two legends appearing as features easily draws a listener in, but its Cozz himself that makes you add both songs to your playlist.

What I think truly makes Cozz stand out among the young and underground rappers is the conviction in his music. There’s an abundance of rappers in this day and age that are adept at the technical aspects of a song. They can write some catchy lyrics and stay right on beat, but, and this isn’t a diss at him, does anybody really care what the hell a rapper like Travis Scott is actually saying? With Cozz, its different, there’s substance. You can feel every lyric that comes out of his mouth. Each song paints a picture in your mind, and he does this with clever and shrewd language.

Like most underground artists, Cozz started as raw but talent. However, unlike most artists, he’s finding his style, and ultimately himself, while being mentored by a top fifty rapper of all time: J. Cole. There’s a lot of parallels between Cozz and Cole and Cole and his own mentor, Hov. Just like Cole bumping Jay Z throughout his adolescence, Cozz grew up

listening to The Come up and The Sideline Story. Both relationships exist with a sense of mutual respect between the mentor and the student, seeing each other as an equal. And these types of relationships allow creativity to flourish.

There is the common phrase is that “history is doomed to repeat itself”. If this remains true, will we see Cozz emerge as a universally respected and loved artist like Cole? I like to think so, but time can only tell.