Stephen Goss (born March 15, 1992), known professionally as Cousin Stizz, is an American rapper and songwriter. He is from Dorchester, Massachusetts and signed to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

Early life

Stephen Goss was born on March 15, 1992, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts. He grew up in the

, Massachusetts neighborhood of Dorchester. A childhood friend gave him the nickname "Cousin Stizz" when he was 12. After a close friend was shot to death, he began to behave recklessly. He attended Reading Memorial High School, graduating in 2010.

Career

In his late teens, he began freestyling with friends in a local cypher series and released music as part of the group Pilot Nation later that year. A boost to his drive to turn rapping into a full-time career came in 2013 with the early success of friend and fellow Boston rapper Michael Christmas. In 2014 after months of recording, Stizz released his first official single as a solo artist, "Shoutout."Nina Corcoran
"Cousin Stizz: How a Dorchester Rapper Built Boston Back Up"
DigBoston, July 13, 2017, retrieved February 26, 2017 His debut mixtape as a solo artist, ''Suffolk County'', released June 1, 2015, received over 12 million listens on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

. Wide notice also came with the release on the internet of a video of

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

playing Stizz's single "Shoutout" at the star's birthday party. His next mixtape, ''MONDA'', released in the summer of 2016, was named one of

DigBoston ''DigBoston''—formerly known as the ''Weekly Dig'' and known colloquially as ''The Dig''—is a free alternative newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts. It covers news in the Greater Boston area and offers commentary on music, arts, politics, busin ...

's Best Local Albums of 2016. He signed a record deal with

in late 2016, and his third release and first on RCA, ''One Night Only'', came out on July 12, 2017. It includes features from Offset (of Migos), G-Eazy, Big Leano, and Buddy, and production credits from Tee-WaTT, Tedd Boyd,

Vinylz Anderson Hernandez (born September 2, 1989),Rys, Dan (July 11, 2013)"‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’ Behind The Scenes: Five Producers Who Helped Craft The Album". '' XXL''. Accessed on July 11, 2013. professionally known as Vinylz, is an American ...

, FrancisGotHeat,

Smash David Samuel David Jimenez, professionally known as Smash David, is an American record producer and songwriter. He produced Big Sean's " Bounce Back" and " Pills & Automobiles" by Chris Brown from the ''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'' album. Early life ...

, WondaGurl, and Dave Sava6e. Three weeks after the album's release, the single "Headlock" (feat. Offset) had been streamed over 11.3 million times on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

, reaching No. 12 on Billboard's Next Big Sound chart, while viewers on YouTube had watched Stizz's videos (combined) over 8 million times. Author

Shea Serrano Shea Serrano is an American author, journalist, and former teacher. He is best known for his work with the sports and pop culture websites, '' The Ringer'' and ''Grantland'', as well as his books, including '' The Rap Year Book'', '' Basketball ...

of '' The Ringer'' is an active fan of the rapper and also his No. 1 fan in the entire world, calling his music inspiring. In December 2018, he was crowned "Artist of the Year" at the

Boston Music Awards Founded in 1987, the Boston Music Awards are a set of music awards given annually that showcase talent in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Past shows have featured such notable talent as Aerosmith, Paula Cole, Esperanza Spalding, Boston, Rubyho ...

. With his victory, Stizz became the first hip-hop musician to receive the awards ceremony's highest honor.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Extended plays

References

External links

Cousin Stizz's SoundcloudOfficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousin Stizz 1992 births Living people American rappers Songwriters from Massachusetts Rappers from Boston East Coast hip hop musicians 21st-century American rappers