#283: Cousin Stizz

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal we welcome Boston's own Cousin Stizz to the Upper West Side! Stizz discusses the realities of growing up in Dorchester, the oldest of three children and the son of working class parents who wanted more for him then what they had, how he excelled in certain classes but didn't care for school, the pull of the darker corners outside, and the effect his best friend's death had on him before even reaching high school. Stizz talks his mother's line in the sand, what it was like to bus to the suburbs to a brand new school experience, listening to but not obsessing over music as a teen, and casually finding his way into rap cyphers, where more than anything he got a chance to show off his sense of humor. We break down his mom's driving him to an Army recruiter, his last-minute scheme to stay at home by becoming a producer, how that evolved into composing lyrics, recording his own songs, and keeping them all to himself, and the serendipitous moment where he left a dice game after a last minute invite to crash an open mic where he met up with a number of his contemporaries who'd go on to become his creative partners. Stizz talks about speaking on his circumstances where others hadn't before, the care he puts into perfecting his art, the thought that goes into his process, and what it's like to find out that Drake played your music at a party and broadcast it to the world on Instagram. We get into his meeting at Lyor Cohen's house, how labels came calling, why he ultimately chose to sign with RCA, what he discussed with Donald Glover while they got high, how both loss and success led to scrapping two full albums, what it's like to have Shea Serrano in your corner, why he still loves his city, that infamous Cuba Gooding, Jr. picture, whether a true Bostonian can ever wear a Yankees hat, the reality of Tom Brady getting older, and so much more!