Boss

Boss is the stage name of Lichelle Laws, a US female gangsta rapper from Detroit, Michigan, born in 1969 and active until her death in 2024. Her name is also spelled Bo$$. She is associated with gangsta rap and hip hop.

Early career and formation

Boss first performs as part of a duo, with Laws as the rapper and her friend Irene Moore as DJ Dee. After graduating from high school, the pair relocate to Los Angeles. Laws is spotted by DJ Quik, who places her on a track with AMG, and Russell Simmons signs her to Def Jam West after hearing it.

Albums and chart success

Her debut album, Born Gangstaz, appears in 1993 and brings her wider recognition as one of the more successful female rappers of the period. The album includes the single “Deeper”, which reaches number one on Billboard’s Hot Rap Tracks chart, and “Recipe for a Hoe”, which also reaches number one on the Rap Tracks chart.

Later life and death

In May 2011, Laws says she needs a kidney because of renal disease and asks the Facebook community for a donor. In 2017, she suffers a major stroke and seizure. She dies in a hospital of kidney failure in Southfield, Michigan, in 2024.