Cozz

Cozz Takes Stock Of His Life And The Lessons He’s Learned On The Introspective ‘Fortunate’ EP

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It just might be Dreamville season again. Only two months after North Carolina Dreamville rapper Lute released his long-awaited second studio album, Gold Mouf, another member of the throwback rap-centric crew has returned with his own comeback project. Inglewood native Cozz, who featured on Gold Mouf alongside Lute, has released his own EP, Fortunate, marking the end of a three-year wait for the follow-up to his 2018 debut album, Effected.

The EP consists of seven songs, including the previously released singles “Fortunate” and “Addicted.” It features production by longtime Dreamville beatmaker Elite, frequent crew colalborator T-Minus, and the group’s team captain J. Cole, as well as a guest appearance by fellow West Coast veteran YG, who appears on “Control Problems.”

Unfortunately, the release had a technical hiccup, resulting in the track order getting mixed up on DSPs. Cozz addressed the issue on Twitter, writing, “No lie I’m frustrated cuz I had an idea of how I want people to hear this ep but technical difficulties ddnt allow that to happen. What’s below is the order so if u care enough, listen as is but if not f*ck it the music is the same. This will be fixed by Friday enjoy. In other words the order is completely wrong on every listening platform.”

Fortunate is out now via Dreamville/Interscope Records. You can stream it here.

Cozz Admits He Has Vices In The Vulnerable Video For ‘Addicted’

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Cozz has gone almost four years without releasing an album. His last one, Effected, arrived at the beginning of 2018, and since then it’s been mostly loose singles and guest appearances, like “LamboTruck” with Reason, “Don’t Hit Me Right Now” with Bas, Buddy, Guapdad 4000, and Baby Tate, and “Eye To Eye” with fellow Dreamville rapper Lute. Thankfully, Cozz seems to be getting back in the swing, returning with his latest single, “Addicted,” and its accompanying video.

On the track, which Cozz described as a “quick joint with some choice words about a few of my addictions,” Cozz gets vulnerable as he opens up about his many vices, including women on social media, drinking, and his ex. “Ditching my addictions is like switching my pigment,” he raps. “Sh*t if ya got any advice I’m here to listen, we all got plenty of vices and mine no different / Unless we talking be women who grew up without they fathers / So they addictions attention you know.” The video tracks a day in his life filled with said vices.

Prior to “Addicted,” Cozz expressed his gratitude for living to see another day in his video for “Fortunate,” which sees Cozz walk away from a head-on collision that left him with some cuts and bruises.

You can watch the video for “Addicted” above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Cozz Is Grateful To Be Alive In His Moody ‘Fortunate’ Video

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Inglewood-bred Dreamville rapper Cozz returns with a moody video for his new single, “Fortunate,” after having a relatively quiet couple of years since his last album. The video finds Cozz sitting in a wrecked car, having apparently survived a harrowing front-end collision. Throughout the video, Cozz expresses his gratitude and grapples with his vices, a struggle represented by haunting religious imagery and his pained crooning on the song’s confessional chorus.

When we last heard from Cozz, he was cutting up on the Dreamville compilation Revenge Of The Dreamers III, threatening to rob his own label boss alongside fellow West Coaster Reason on “Lambo Truck” and dismissing pushy groupies on “Don’t Hit Me Right Now” alongside Bas, Buddy, Guapdad 4000, and Yung Baby Tate. Before that, he established himself as a lyrical force with his debut album, Effected which featured both his Dreamville boss J. Cole and King of LA, Kendrick Lamar.

More recently, Cozz could be heard assisting his Dreamville compatriot Lute on his new album Gold Mouf and Uproxx regulars may recognize him making a few appearances in our music video show React Like You Know, joining our panel of 20-somethings to give his impressions on videos like Fabolous’ “So Into You.”

Watch Cozz’s “Fortunate” video above and stay tuned.

Lute’s Long-Awaited Album ‘Gold Mouf’ Features JID, Little Brother, Saba And More

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Dreamville fans have been waiting for Lute’s album Gold Mouf for a longer time than originally anticipated after a global pandemic set back its release last year. In February of 2020, Lute started the hype train rolling with his “GED” video and a related web series, only to see the entire music industry shut down as a result of COVID-19 safety protocols. In the meantime, though, he collected his platinum plaques from the Revenge Of The Dreamers III compilation.

Now, though, the industry is once again humming, venues across the nation have reopened, and Lute finally has a release date for Gold Mouf, the follow-up to his well-received 2017 debut album West1996 Pt. 2: October 4. Today, he revealed the release date and the feature-filled tracklist, which contains nods to both his Dreamville family and his North Carolina roots. Fellow Dreamvillians Ari Lennox, Cozz, and JID appear on three separate tracks, while out-of-town assistance comes in the form of features from BJ The Chicago Kid, Blakk Soul, Devn, Saba, and Westside Boogie.

But North Carolina natives and fans of the sort of soulful throwback hip-hop embodied by much of Dreamville’s roster will likely be most excited to see the pioneering rap group Little Brother included. Considered inspirations to many of today’s top rappers, including Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Dreamville’s own J. Cole, the NC-based Little Brother eventually spawned the Grammy-winning efforts of former producer/DJ 9th Wonder and the multi-talented, do-it-all industry expanse of Phonte Coleman. Little Brother recently reunited as a duo featuring Phonte and Big Pooh with the blessing of 9th Wonder, making the occasion one to be truly excited for.

Gold Mouf is due 10/4 via Dreamville. Check out the tracklist below.

Fabolous’ ‘So Into You’ Video Makes DDG, Yung Baby Tate, And More Nostalgic For Better Times

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React Like You Know is back! This time around we’ve got some new faces mixed in with the familiar favorites from our panel, including Beanz, Blxst, Snow The Product, and Yung Baby Tate. After enjoying a trip down Nostalgia Road with Missy Elliott last time around, we stuck with the 106 & Park classics yet again with Fabolous’ 2003 Street Dreams single “So Into You” featuring Tamia.

It was a simpler time; the pants were baggy, the caps were fitted, and music video countdowns dominated our after-school television viewing. Back then, the “Holla Back” rapper was a sex symbol — a fact that leaves Yung Baby Tate bemused. “I’m screaming at the fact that anybody ever found him attractive,” she admits, although she’s definitely exaggerating on the “screaming.”

A few of the panel artists also notice the presence of actress K.D. Aubert, who did indeed get her start appearing in music videos before landing roles in Friday After Next, Soul Plane, and most recently, Nick Cannon’s streetball drama She Ball. YBT’s got some thoughts here too, but I’ll let you catch those for yourself. There are also some fun stories about ringtones, throwbacks, and having crushes that have them relating to the song’s lovesick chorus.

Watch the latest episode of React Like You Know above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lil Baby, Yo Gotti & More Share Who’s Next Up on Record Labels

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Who’s next to blow up on these rapper-run record labels? Let Lil Baby, Yo Gotti and more tell you.
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J. Cole’s Upcoming Album, ‘The Off-Season,’ Is His ‘Best Sh*t To Date,’ According To Dreamville’s Cozz

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At long last, the world finally received a release date for J. Cole’s next album: The Off-Season, which the rapper has been teasing since late last year, will arrive next week, on May 14. Cole shared the news on his social media accounts, and he also revealed the album’s artwork: an image of him standing in front of a burning basketball hoop. While everyone else has to wait, the rapper’s labelmates are already letting people know what to expect before it arrives.

Hours after J. Cole made the announcement, Cozz, who’s also signed to Dreamville Records, took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the forthcoming release. “From what I’ve heard so far this cole best sh*t to date,” he wrote. His comments come after labelmate Bas hinted at the album’s impending arrival in a now-deleted Instagram post, writing, “pack your bags. [rocket emoji] in two weeks.”

The road to The Off-Season dates back to Cole’s 2018 album, KOD, which is when he revealed that he already had a name for his subsequent effort. It was originally teased for a 2020 release, but the year came and went without its arrival. In December, he shared a to-do list that featured The Off-Season as something he wants to complete before releasing its follow-up, The Fall Off.