Lichelle Laws, also known as the pioneering gangster rapper BO$$, passed away on Monday, March 11, due to kidney failure. She was 54 years old. Born and raised in Detroit, Laws gained prominence in the burgeoning West Coast gangster rap scene in the early ’90s.
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She initially moved to NYC with dreams of launching a rap career but found no success. Afterward, she relocated to Los Angeles, where she met West Coast rap legend DJ Quik. Quik took her under his wing and introduced her to other rappers, including AMG, with whom she collaborated on his debut album.
In 1993, Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons decided to capitalize on the growing popularity of gangster rap by launching LA-based Def Jam West (DJ West) and signing artists from California.
Laws, under the name BO$$, was Simmons’ first signee to DJ West and was one of the first female rappers ever signed to Def Jam.
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BO was anacronym for Bi—es On SomeSh and was actually a duo consisting of Laws and her DJ, Irene”Dee”Moore. Their debut album, BornGangstaz, was released inMay 1993 and sold close to 400,000 copies.
Despite the success of their debut, BO never released a sophomore project due to a Wall Street Journal article questioning the reality of Laws’ claims, which led to their dismissal from DJ West.
In 2017, Laws suffered a stroke after being diagnosed with renal disease. A 2021 GoFundMe raised $18,000 to help cover her medical bills. Upon her passing, many rappers paid tribute to Laws on social media, including hip-hop pioneer Kurtis Blow, who called her “one of the best female MCs and a dear friend.” DJ Premier also revealed that Gang Starr did a remix to “Deeper” that Def Jam never released.
See DJ Premier’s Post On Instagram;
https://www.instagram.com/p/C4ZIMzMOONB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
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