Cozz: I’m a mystery to myself…

It was never truly dead, but hip-hop from the West Coast has recently risen to a stature it hasn’t enjoyed in years. One of the young artists looking to make a mark is South Central’s Cozz. Barely in his 20s, Cody Macc rolled a seven out the gate. While finishing what was to be his debut mixtape, Cozz And Effect, he was already fielding meetings with seasoned music industry brass like Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles and even Wyclef Jean. Still, it was J. Cole’s nascent Dreamville Records that made the most sense. Since last summer Cozz has been a Dreamville artist. But what does it mean for a young man from South Central to go from trying out his first bars at 16 to signing a deal at 20? I got the “Dreams” rapper on the phone to talk about what he learned from attending high school a few miles south and a world away in Manhattan Beach, the impact he’s looking to make and how it feels to be finding yourself while knee-deep in the rap game. Cozz performs Sun., July 19, with J. Cole and more at Staples Center.

Where were you born?

Cozz: I was born in Inglewood, [lived] there until I was six and then I moved to South Central where I’m at now. Before high school I was just an L.A. kid who was going in the city, playing outside and kicking it with the boys and you know, getting in trouble—not getting in trouble but trying to stay out of trouble. It’s just where we come from. Where there’s gang activity, you know we try to sneak out and kick it with girls and regular kid shit. I grew up with both of my parents, my mom and my pops. Except for later down the line they split up after high school, but they never had a healthy relationship. It was always hard with things going on inside the house. Other than that, it was just typical L.A. kids.

Cozz performs Sun., July 19, with J. Cole and more at Staples Center. Check out the full interview by Sweeney Kovar at LA Record

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