First Female Artist Signed To Def Jam West Is Dead

Detroit rapper and the first female artists signed to Def Jam West, Bo$$, has died. She was 46.

Born Lichelle Laws, Bo$$’s journey from Detroit to Los Angeles was a step to popularity. She was one of the Hip-hop stars who projected that genre during her time a long time back.

Despite her inauspicious death, her impact on hip-hop culture will always be remembered and celebrated. Bo$$ — a Detroit native actually gained conspicuousness in the lively LA rap scene.

The UGK legend Bun B. took to Instagram on Monday (March 11), to share an image of Bo$$ as he announced the sad news about her passing.

“Rest in peace to my big sister, Lichelle Laws AKA Boss. One of the best female MCs and a dear friend. Give Rick Royal a hug for me. Long Live The Org!” he wrote.

Bo$$ was born in Detroit, and moved to Los Angeles subsequent to graduating from secondary school and promptly started making waves in the local rap scene. One of DJ Quick’s associates, Russell Simmons, soon discovered her and signed her to Def Jam’s West Coast branch.

In 1993, Bo$$ released her first and only studio album, Born Gangstaz, with hits such as Recipe for a Hoe, I Don’t Give a F**k, Mai Sista Izza Bitch, Deeper, and more.

The LP peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Beatmakers Jam Master Jay, MC Serch, and Erick Sermon, as well as other artists like Onyx, Admiral D, Papa Juggy, and more, contributed to the album.

In 1994, Laws, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, revealed that she grew up in a middle-class neighborhood on the West Side of Detroit. She took ballet and piano lessons as a kid, all while attending a Catholic private school. Additionally, she majored in business at Oakland University.

During the mid-1990s, Laws moved to Texas to collaborate with Ricardo Royal, also known as Coco Budda. Subsequently, she made Houston her home and became involved in a relationship with Royal, with whom she had a son named Lamar. By 1999, she was suffering from kidney failure, and she and Royal amicably split up, and she went to live with her parents.

In 2001, while dealing with a health crisis, she collaborated with Krayzie Bone on his album ‘Thug On Da Line’, and three years later, in 2004, she came out with her own mixtape titled ‘The Six Million Dollar Mixtape’, produced by Def Jef.

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Bo$$’s cause of death has not been revealed at this point, yet reports say she had been battling with health related issues over the years paving the way to her passing.

As per a GoFundMe page set up in 2021, the rapper had been battling with renal sickness since 2011, which left her needing a kidney transplant. The health emergency also made her have a significant seizure in 2017.

“We are now trying to see if the family can get a specialized procedure for her,” the description of the fundraiser read.

“The procedure is costly, and we wanted to reach out to her extended family, her friends, and fans to ask for assistance with helping her to be blessed with this procedure to help her to get back to her health. The funds are needed as soon as possible to set her up for the procedure. After the procedure, she will be on the kidney list for a transplant from a donor, once we receive one. We are humbly requesting your help, family. Please give whatever you can. We are grateful for anything that you can do.”