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{{Short description|American rapper (1969–2024)}}
{{tone}}
{{Infobox musical artist
Born '''Lichelle Laws''' in [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]], [[Michigan]]
| name = Bo$$
[[Image:Lichelle_the_boss.jpg‎|thumb|Boss]]
| image = Boss (rapper) nonfree.jpg
Boss was first a duo, with the Laws as the rapper and her female DJ, Dee. The group name stod for "''Bitches On Some Shit''". She became the first act to sign with [[Def_Jam_Recordings|Def Jam]] West.
| image_size =
A female [[Gangsta rap|gangsta rapper]], Lichelle was born in Detroit, then relocated to [[Los_Angeles|Los Angeles]] before being spotted by [[DJ_Quik|DJ Quik]] who stuck her on a track with [[AMG(rapper)|AMG]]. [[Russell_Simmons|Russell Simmons]] liked the track and promptly signed her to Def Jam West. Her debut album ''Born Gangstaz'' was released in [[1993]], and the single "Deeper" was a hit. Her fledgling career was buried by the press after the found out she wasn't much of a gangsta at all. She went on to be a radio Dj in Texas.
| caption =
| birth_name = Lichelle Marie Laws<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/893198954 |title=A CALL FROM MOM |website=ASCAP |publisher=American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers |access-date=May 1, 2023}}</ref>
| birth_date = {{birth date|1969|9|12}}
| birth_place=[[Detroit]], Michigan, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|03|11|1969|09|12}}
| death_place=[[Southfield, Michigan]], U.S.
| origin = [[Detroit, Michigan]], U.S.
| genre = [[Hip hop music|Hip hop]]
| instrument =
| years_active = 1988–1995<br />2001–2024
| label = [[Def Jam Recordings|Def Jam West]]/Chaos/[[Columbia Records|Columbia]]/[[Sony Music Entertainment|SME Records]] (1992–1995)<br>8055 Records (2004–2006)
}}
 
'''Lichelle Marie Laws''' (September 12, 1969 – March 11, 2024),<ref name="latimes">{{cite web|url = https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2024-03-12/boss-dead-lichelle-laws-def-jam-first-female-rapper-was-54|title = Boss, Def Jam's first female rapper and 'Born Gangstaz' musician, dies at 54|last = Del Rosario|first = Alexandra|date = March 12, 2024|accessdate = March 25, 2024 |work = [[Los Angeles Times]] |archive-url = https://archive.today/20240313035158/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2024-03-12/boss-dead-lichelle-laws-def-jam-first-female-rapper-was-54 |archive-date = March 13, 2024 |url-status = live}}</ref> better known by her stage name '''Boss''' (stylized as '''Bo$$'''), was an American [[rapper]] from [[Detroit]]. Her debut album, ''[[Born Gangstaz]]'', reached number three on [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'']]'s [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums]] [[Record chart|chart]] in 1993. Laws became best known as a part of the burgeoning West Coast [[gangsta rap]] scene in the early ’90s.<ref name=":0" />
 
== Life and career ==
Laws was born in Detroit to Joe Laws, an autoworker, and Lillie, who took her master's degree in education and was a teacher at junior high and middle schools, formerly a teacher of business education at [[Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design|Lewis College of Business]], Detroit. Her parents were both church deacons. She had two elder sisters.<ref name="Smith">{{cite web|last=Smith |first=Brian |url=http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=6344 |title=Music: Same as the old Boss |publisher=Metro Times |date= |accessdate=2012-03-30}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19940208&slug=1894100|title=Why The Double Standard When It Comes To Violence? &#124; The Seattle Times|website=Archive.seattletimes.com}}</ref> Laws relocated to [[Los Angeles]] after graduating high school, accompanied by her DJ Irene 'Dee' Moore. She was spotted by [[DJ Quik]] who stuck her on a track with [[AMG (rapper)|AMG]]. [[Russell Simmons]] liked the track and promptly signed her to Def Jam West.<ref name="Smith" /> Her debut album ''[[Born Gangstaz]]'' was released in 1993,<ref>{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r184145|pure_url=yes}}|title=''Born Gangstaz''|author=Andy Kellman |website=[[AllMusic]] |accessdate=2012-03-30}}</ref> and the singles, "Deeper" and "Recipe for a Hoe", hit number one on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot Rap Tracks]] chart.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/1993-04-24/rap-song|title=Rap Music: Top Rap Songs Chart|website=Billboard.com|access-date=2018-05-17}}</ref>
 
In 1994, Laws was interviewed by a reporter from ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', who revealed that she grew up in a middle-class neighborhood (on the West Side, Detroit), studied ballet and piano, and attended Catholic private school (where she was a cheerleader), before majoring in business for two years at Oakland University.<ref name="Smith" /><ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/09/03/pants-on-fire-hip-hops-most-exposed-liars/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120724073939/http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/09/03/pants-on-fire-hip-hops-most-exposed-liars/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-07-24 |title=Pants On Fire: Hip-Hop's Most Exposed Liars |publisher=Complex |accessdate=2012-03-30 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2004_11_sixmillion.html|title=Boss :: The Six Million Dollar Mixtape :: 8055 Music|website=Rapreviews.com}}</ref> Laws had never attempted to disguise the truth of her upbringing; the intro of her 1993 album ''Born Gangstaz'', "Intro: A Call from Mom", has her mother Lillie describe her as "a young lady who was brought up through Catholic school for 12 years; and dance schools, tap dance, jazz, piano lessons and all of that; plus, you went to college for three years..."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrZyqhoA3wg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/jrZyqhoA3wg |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live|title=boss - intro a call from mom - Born Gangstaz|date=8 December 2008 |publisher=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> "The album is, in fact, bracketed with a mockery of her rearing; phone messages from mama and papa particularizing a privileged suburban upbringing (Catholic-school, piano-playing, tap-dancing)" belying the record's "unyielding vulgarity and embroidered aggression" with a "brilliant... self-mocking disclaimer". [[Def Jef]], who produced the album and suggested the inclusion of Laws's parents, observed, "I can't believe none of the reviews saw the irony of that. No one did!" Having left Detroit for south-side Los Angeles in 1990, Laws and Moore encountered its "squalid side... derelict hotels, feudal gangs, dealing and hustling". Prior to securing a record deal, they lived in poor circumstances, selling drugs, sleeping on benches, and living in low-rent hotels. Her parents were unaware of the lifestyle she was leading. In the wake of her first album, Laws and Moore stopped working together, Laws noting, "We couldn't work together anymore, but we were still cool"; Moore's Def Jam deal never came to anything.<ref name="Smith" /><ref name="auto1"/>
 
In the mid-1990s, Laws relocated to Texas to record songs with Ricardo Royal, a.k.a. "Coco Budda", a rapper whose work she had admired. Laws settled in Houston, entered a relationship with Royal, and had a son, Lamar. Although living a more relaxed life, Laws recorded demos for a second album, funded by Def Jam, but the label rejected them, and she was dropped from the label. Laws took this development in stride, noting, "I was used to that kind of shit... I thought I was good enough to get another deal. But I just chilled in Texas. Then I got sick." Still performing shows despite waning popularity in light of her lack of new releases, Laws moved to Dallas with Royal, where she took a job as co-host of a nightly hip-hop radio show on [[KKDA-FM]], where she stayed for five years, recalling in 2004 "that was a bomb job". By 1999, she was suffering kidney failure; she and Royal amicably split up, and she went to live with her parents, undergoing dialysis for three and a half years, experiencing "every complication that you have with... bad kidneys", and given a poor prognosis. At times of comparatively better health, Laws recorded with Def Jef, who praised her dedication, lack of self-pity, and resolve in the face of her health problems. 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2004_11_sixmillion.html | title=The Six Million Dollar Mixtape Review | website=Rapreviews.com | date=30 November 2004 | accessdate=2 May 2016 | author=Jost, Matt}}</ref> In 2004, Laws observed of her more recent work, "It's still hardcore... it's me. I've been through so much. I try to put a message in there, but it's not preachy shit." Def Jef claimed to have "shopped (Laws) to almost every major and indie label and met with resistance... People are always asking about how she looks, what her age is... it's never about the music. I'll work with Boss when she's 45 years old. She gave me a new perspective on women."<ref name="Smith" /><ref name="auto1"/>
 
==Death==
 
It was revealed in May 2011 that Laws was in need of a [[kidney]] due to her suffering from [[renal disease]]. Laws reached out to the [[Facebook]] community for a potential donor, but none were found.<ref>{{cite web|last=Steven|title=Rapper Bo$$ In Need Of Kidney Transplant|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.14923/title.rapper-bo-in-need-of-kidney-transplant/|publisher=Hip Hop DX|accessdate=3 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503221121/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.14923/title.rapper-bo-in-need-of-kidney-transplant|archive-date=3 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2017, Laws suffered from "a major stroke and seizure", and on 31 January 2021 a GoFundMe was set up to raise $15,000 for a recommended medical procedure. By February 17, the NME reported it had reached $2,215; by March 3, it had surpassed the $15,000 goal, reaching $16,314.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/gofundme-page-set-up-for-the-rapper-bo-to-help-pay-for-her-medical-bills-2882655|title=GoFundMe page set up for the rapper Bo$$ to help pay her medical bills|website=[[NME]] |date=17 February 2021}}</ref>
Laws died at a hospital of [[kidney failure]] in [[Southfield, Michigan]] on March 11, 2024, at the age of 54.<ref name="latimes"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Detroit Rapper Bo$$ Has Died—Bun B, Jermaine Dupri, The D.O.C. & More React |url=https://allhiphop.com/news/detroit-rapper-boss-dead/ |access-date=12 March 2024 |publisher=All Hip Hop |date=11 March 2024}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Billboard |first=Damien Scott |date=2024-03-13 |title=BO$$, Def Jam West's First Female Rapper, Dies at 54 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/boss-dead-def-jam-wests-rapper-1235851119/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>
 
==Discography==
===Studio albums===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
!rowspan="2" style="width:15em;" |Title
!rowspan="2" |Release
!colspan="2" |Peak chart positions
|-
! scope="col" style=font-size:90%;"| [[Billboard 200|US]]
! scope="col" style=font-size:90%;"| [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums|US<br/>R&B]]
|-
! scope="row"| ''[[Born Gangstaz]]''
|1993
|align="center"|22
|align="center"|3
|-
|}
 
===Mixtapes===
*''The Six Million Dollar Mixtape'' (2004)
*''Doin Everythang'' <small>with D.E.T.</small> (2008)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rateyourmusic.com/release/mixtape/d_e_t/doin_every_thang/|title=Doin Every Thang by D.E.T|website=Rateyourmusic.com}}</ref>
 
===Singles===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
!rowspan="2" style="width:15em;" |Title
!rowspan="2" |Release
!colspan="4"| Peak chart positions
!rowspan="2"| Album
|-
! scope="col" style=font-size:90%;"| [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot<br/>100]]
! scope="col" style=font-size:90%;"| [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|R&B]]
! scope="col" style=font-size:90%;"| [[Hot Rap Songs|Rap]]
! scope="col" style=font-size:90%;"| [[Hot Dance Singles Sales|Dance]]
|-
! scope="row"| "[[Deeper (Boss song)|Deeper]]"
| rowspan="2"|1993
|align="center"|65
|align="center"|28
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|25
| rowspan="2"|''[[Born Gangstaz]]''
|-
! scope="row"| "[[Recipe of a Hoe]]"
|align="center"|118<sup>[A]</sup>
|align="center"|73
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|29
|}
 
===Guest appearances===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" style="width:15em;"| <br/>Title<br/><br/>
! scope="col"| Release
! scope="col"| Other artist(s)
! scope="col"| Album
|-
! scope="row"| "Mai Sista Izza Bitch"
| 1991
| [[AMG (rapper)|AMG]]
| ''[[Bitch Betta Have My Money]]''
|-
! scope="row"| "Don't Ring the Alarm (The Heist)"
| 1993
| [[Spice 1]], [[G-Nut]]
| ''[[187 He Wrote]]''
|-
! scope="row"| "No Peace"
| 1995
| [[South Central Cartel]], [[Ice-T]], Powerlord Jel, Spice 1, [[Ant Banks]], [[Treach]], Dori
| ''[[Murder Squad Nationwide]]''
|-
! scope="row"| "A Thugga' Level"
| rowspan="2"| 2001
| [[Krayzie Bone]], LaReece
| rowspan="2"| ''[[Thug on da Line]]''
|-
! scope="row"| "Rollin' Up Some Mo'"
| Krayzie Bone, LaReece, Asu, K-Mont, Keef G
|}
 
===Soundtrack appearances===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" style="width:15em;"| <br/>Title<br/><br/>
! scope="col"| Release
! scope="col"| Episode
! scope="col"| Soundtrack
|-
! scope="row"| "Diary of a Mad Bitch"
| 1992
|rowspan=2|
| ''[[Zebrahead (soundtrack)|Zebrahead]]''
|-
! scope="row"| "Run, Catch & Kill"
| 1994
| ''[[Mi Vida Loca (soundtrack)|Mi Vida Loca]]''
|-
! scope="row"| "I Don't Give a Fuck"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/orange-is-the-new-black/season-1/15430/|title=Orange is the New Black Music - Season 1: "Lesbian Request Denied" - TuneFind|website=TuneFind.com|date=11 July 2013|accessdate=18 Sep 2014}}</ref>
| 2013
| "[[Lesbian Request Denied]]"
| ''[[Orange Is the New Black]]''
|-
! scope="row"| "I Don't Give a Fuck"{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}
| 2022
| "Under Pressure"
| ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth (TV series)|The Man Who Fell to Earth]]''
|}
 
==Videography==
===Music videos===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" style="width:15em;"| <br/>Title<br/><br/>
! scope="col"| Release
! scope="col"| Other artist(s)
! scope="col"| Album
|-
! scope="row"| "[[Deeper (Boss song)|Deeper]]"
| rowspan="2"| 1993
| rowspan="2"|
| rowspan="2"| ''[[Born Gangstaz]]''
|-
! scope="row"| "[[Recipe of a Hoe]]"
|-
! scope="row"| "No Peace"
| 1995
| [[South Central Cartel]], [[Ice-T]], Powerlord Jel, [[Spice 1]], [[Ant Banks]], [[Treach]], Dori
| ''[[Murder Squad Nationwide]]''
|}
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boss}}
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:2024 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American women rappers]]
[[Category:Midwest hip-hop musicians]]
[[Category:Rappers from Detroit]]
[[Category:Def Jam Recordings artists]]
[[Category:Gangsta rappers]]
[[Category:21st-century American rappers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women rappers]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American women rappers]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American rappers]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American women]]
[[Category:21st-century American women rappers]]
[[Category:Deaths from kidney disease]]
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