Dorchester, Massachusetts MC Cousin Stizz delivered his sophomore Mixtape MONDA last Friday. The project is firmly within the sonic confines of what fans have come to expect from the burgeoning Boston MC: smooth beats, stoned witticisms, and anecdotes of the peril he survived in his home city.
The 14-track tape’s soundscape was crafted by nine different producers, most of them returning names from his Suffolk County debut. The continuity allowed Stizz to create a cohesive work despite the numerous hands in the figurative pot. Songs like “Reup and Bake“ and “Day Gone” typify the project, with Stizz’ melodic flow and easily recitable hooks shine through on the mixtape.
“They could be a million things but not us,” Stizz triumphantly harmonizes over the warped, insular Trap production of “Million Things”. It’s perhaps the peak moment of the project.
Stizz is still enough close to his surroundings to reflect on his first hand to hand turning him out on “Screwed Up”, but far enough towards the horizon of a promising career to contextualize surviving the hazards of his upbringing as an achievement.
As Stizz noted on his “Down Like That” track, “yeah we struggled, but I kept my smile intact.” You can stream MONDA below.
