Bosko (producer)

Bosko Kante is a record producer, singer, and songwriter.

Childhood

Bosko was born Bosco Kante to a Ghanaian father and an Irish-American mother in Accra, Ghana where his parents were both teachers in the Peace Corp. He moved with is family to Portland, Oregon at about two months of age. His parents divorced when he was 4 years old, and his father returned to Ghana to live, though he traveled back and forth to visit his son. Bosco and his mother remained in Portland where her parents and sisters were. Bosco was heavily influenced by his mother’s side of the family’s music and math interests, and he excelled in both subjects starting from a young age. Bosco’s mother, aunts, and grandmother all played instruments at a professional or semi professional level and Bosco’s maternal grandmother was an award winning math professor at Portland State.

Professional life

Bosko blends traditional hip hop and soul styles to create a musical sound that he punctuates with lyrics about honesty in relationships and living “The Good Life” (a life described by Bosko as not limited by out-dated social conventions and full of cultural diversity, travel, and culinary experiences); a lyric from his song Just Do You reveals the upbeat outlook he passes on through his music: “Cause there's only one…one you in this world. What separates you elevates you high up above.”

Bosko’s first solo album, The Good Life Movement, features a fusion live instrumentation and boom-bap hip hop style beats. A multi-instrumentalist (keyboard, guitar, bass, trumpet), Bosko wrote, produced, sang, rapped, and performed nearly every instrument in addition to recording, mixing, and mastering the entire project. Bosko released the album independently through his website and record label BoskoLive.com to critical acclaim. Bosko released a self-produced compilaiton album, called “That Fire”, through his label Bombay Entertainment in 2005 as a showcase for his production skills. Several well-known hip hop artists are featured on that album, including Lil Jon, E-40, DMX, and Bubba Sparxxx.

Bosko writes, produces, mixes, and masters music for himself and others in Portland, Atlanta, Los Angeles and the Bay area. Bosko runs his own top-of-the-line facilities called BoskoLive.Com Digital Studios, located in both Los Angeles and Atlanta. Bosko has been featured on more than thirty albums, and he has also taken part in more than half a dozen television and movie productions. Bosko’s song “Happy to Be Here”, from E-40’s album My Ghetto Report Card, was named the “Hip Hop Quotable” song by The Source Magazine.

Early career

As an adolescent Bosko became interested in hip-hop music and culture and developed his break dancing to the point where he won a set of turntables in a Portland Area Breakin’ contest. He then began to DJ house parties, using the money he earned to buy music production equipment. Beginning with production for local neighborhood kids (including childhood friend Terrance Scott), Bosko soon developed a local clientele. At the same time Bosko developed into an honor student and an all state athlete, earning a 4.0 GPA and eventually becoming Grant High School class valedictorian. Voted “most likely to succeed” by his classmates, Bosko accepted a full-academic scholarship to the University of Southern California in part to pursue opportunities in the music business available in Los Angeles. At USC Bosko excelled, earning his way onto the nationally ranked USC Trojan Basketball team as well as completing his Mechanical Engineering degree Cum Laude and producing the theme song to the hit TV show “In Living Color” in 1994. Bosko continued to work with his childhood friend Terrance Scott p/k/a Cool Nutz, co-founding Jus Family Records, one of the most influential NW regional hip hop labels.

Bosko’s first album credit came when he produced four songs for Volume 10 on Immortal Records followed by a popular remix for E-40’s hit "Sprinkle Me". This led to collaborations with most of the popular rappers in the Bay including The Luniz, Too Short, and 3X Krazy and most notably his production of seven songs on E-40’s Element of Surprise. Bosko’s work with E-40 spans over more than ten years and ten albums. In 2006, he produced and was featured on 3 songs on E-40's gold certified album My Ghetto Report Card.

Discography

The Game
Hit Me On the Hip Playboy Straight Mail
The Truth
Curiosity
Hollywood
Dirty Dancing
One Time
Gansta In California
Not to be Fucked Wit
Simpin' Into Pimpin'
Behind The Scenes
Punk Ass Niggaz
The Party Don't Start
I Need You Tonight Remix
Sprinkle Me Remix
Hideaway Playin' Your Game Remix
Hideaway Sweet & Tender Remix
I Like Them Girls Remix
Keep My Soul Remix
Paystyles Remix
Ready Now Remix
Stay The Same
Stylesondeck
Where's The Sniper
Knockoutyaskull
Gimme H**d
Just F***in'
Happy to Be Here
Pray for Me
Click About It
Spooky
Tuff Times
Beatin' the Trunk Loose
Tremendous Damage

References

• Bosko on Eugene weekly
• song writer Bosko Kante
• Bosko at Urban Town Hall And GRAMMY 101
• Bosko on wweek.com

External links

• Bosko's Official website
• Boskolive on Myspace
• Bosko Kante at the Internet Movie Database