By Ben Gibbons
Staff Writer
Mira Costa alumnus Cody “Cozz” Osagie is chasing his dreams after signing with record label Dreamville Records and touring with some of the music industry’s hottest rappers.
Osagie attended El Camino Community College for a year and a half after graduating Costa in the class of 2011. While attending Costa, Osagie played on the Costa football team and ran track. Osagie says that he and his friends used to rap with each other at lunch and when hanging out after school to keep themselves entertained when they were not doing their school work.
Photos: Cozz enjoys touring and concerts at various locations with label mates from Dreamville.
“It’s really cool to know that I’m going to the same school that someone as big as Cozz did,” fan and junior Caleigh McCauley said. “It reminds me that I can do whatever I want and to follow my dreams no matter how big they are.”
After recording a demo mixtape and releasing his hit song and music video, “Dreams,” in 2014, Osagie attracted the attention of J. Cole, a world-famous hip-hop artist. Cole then introduced Osagie to his record company, Dreamville Records, and Osagie signed with Dreamville Records in 2014.
Video: Cozz performs his song, “Knock Tha Hustle (Remix)” with J. Cole in various areas of New York City on March 26th, 2015. Cozz originally wrote this song for himself, but J. Cole wanted to be included in it, so the two released a remix version which turned out to be Cozz’s biggest hit song.
“Just watching [J. Cole] is an inspiration, to see him on his level. He’s somewhere I want to be myself one day,” Osagie said.
Once signed to Dreamville Records, Osagie began working on his first debut album, “Cozz and Effect.” Osagie said that he originally was not planning on selling “Cozz and Effect,” but once he was signed, Cole and his team told him the album was too good to release for free. Released in 2014, the album “Cozz and Effect” has 12 different tracks that feature artists such as J. Cole, Enimal, Free Ackrite and Bas and includes his own hit songs such as “Dreams” and “Cody Macc.”
Click here to listen to “Cozz and Effect” on iTunes.
“I would just tell Costa kids now to enjoy it while they are there, because you only go to high school once,” Osagie said. “Also to always stay positive, that curriculum was not easy.”
Cole invited Osagie to tour with him in 2015 for his “2014 Forest Hills Drive” tour after the release of Cole’s album by the same name. Osagie is currently planning to drop a full studio album this year, as well as joining J. Cole on his upcoming tour this summer.
Listen to Cozz’s recent mixtape, “Nothin Personal”, on SoundCloud here.
“It was fun; I got to travel all over Europe for the first time,” Osagie said. “I got to perform every night with big acts like YG, Big Sean, Jeremih and the whole Dreamville family.”
While many current hip hop artists focus on the idolization of drugs, alcohol, sex and gang violence, Osagie says that he has a different approach to music. He prefers to rap about hard work, effort, his past, his dreams and his goals. He focuses on inspiring his younger listeners to follow their dreams and passions to fruition, Osagie said.
“I like the freedom to do what I want,” Osagie said. “Music is an outlet, and even if you don’t have someone to talk to, it’s rap; you can just put it down on paper and record it. I think the best part about making music is honestly taking the music and getting to perform it in front of so many people that actually want to hear it.”
Leave a Reply