Boss (rapper)

Boss/Bo$$
Birth name Lichelle Laws
Born August 14, 1969
Origin Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres Hip hop
Years active 1991–1995
2004–present
Labels Def Jam West/Chaos/Columbia/SME Records (1992–1995)
8055 Records (2004–2006)
Associated acts Def Jef, Erick Sermon, AMG, Onyx, Spice 1, Krayzie Bone
Website Sivad Management Group

Boss (born Lichelle Laws, August 14, 1969) is an American Midwest female gangsta rapper who enjoyed brief popularity in 1993 with her debut album Born Gangstaz. Her name is sometimes stylized as Bo$$.

Born in Detroit, Laws relocated to Los Angeles after graduating high school. Laws was spotted by DJ Quik who stuck her on a track with AMG. Russell Simmons liked the track and promptly signed her to Def Jam West.[1] Her debut album Born Gangstaz was released in 1993,[2] and the singles, "Deeper" and "Recipe for a Hoe", hit number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart.[3]

Laws' fledgling career took a major blow in 1994 when she was interviewed by a reporter from The Wall Street Journal. The reporter revealed that she grew up in an upper-middle-class family and attended private school.[4][5]

In the mid-1990s, she moved to Dallas, Texas, and went on to be a radio DJ. In 2001, she collaborated with Krayzie Bone on his album Thug On Da Line. In 2004, she released a mixtape titled The Six Million Dollar Mixtape produced by Def Jef.

It was revealed in May 2011 that Laws is in need of a kidney due to her suffering from renal disease, a disease that rendered her kidneys useless for processing toxins in her body. Laws reached out to the Facebook community for a potential donor. A donor is yet to be found.[6]

Discography

Studio albums

Year Title Chart positions
US US R&B
1993 Born Gangstaz 22 3

Singles

Year Song Chart positions Album
Hot 100 R&B Rap Dance Born Gangstaz
1993 "Deeper" 65 28 1 25
"Recipe of a Hoe" 118[A] 73 1 29

Songs in soundtracks

Boss' song "I Don't Give A Fuck" featured as the Closing Credits song of the episode "Lesbian Request Denied" from Season 1 of the Netflix TV show Orange Is the New Black.[7]

References

  1. Smith, Brian. "Music: Same as the old Boss". Metro Times. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  2. Andy Kellman. "Born Gangstaz". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  3. Smith, Brian. "Music: Same as the old Boss". Metro Times. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  4. "Pants On Fire: Hip-Hop's Most Exposed Liars". Complex. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  5. Steven. "Rapper Bo$$ In Need Of Kidney Transplant". Hip Hop DX. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  6. "Orange is the New Black Music - Season 1: "Lesbian Request Denied" - TuneFind". TuneFind.com. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 18 Sep 2014.