The rapper formerly known as SL Jones is now Cuz Lightyear, and after formally reintroducing himself with 2015’s Cuz mixtape, he’s ready for another close-up after inking a deal with Mass Appeal Records. Once described by Killer Mike as “the now and the future of ATL,” Cuz is out to show and prove. Cuz released his Lightyear debut, the nine-track EP WHAT UP CUZ, in September 2017. The project features his flagship jam, the Killer Mike-featured “Pots N Pans,” and contributions from Metro Boomin and Maxo Kream.
Throughout the EP, which clocks in at nearly full-length runtime, Cuz frames his world as somewhat limbo. With feet planted firmly both in the “industry” and in the streets, Lightyear speaks on these sometimes-treacherous environments with an air of jest, as if he’d be down to ride no matter which way the scales tip. The dynamic fosters a comfortable medium for Cuz on What Up, which veers from R&B-adjacent Auto-Tune cuts just as easily as it convinces the listener that Cuz is nothing to fuck with.
