BO$$, Def Jam's first female rapper, has died at the age of 54

Lichelle Laws, better known as pioneering gangster rapper BO$$, died Monday (March 11) of kidney failure. He was 54.

Despite being born and raised in Detroit, Laws became best known as part of the West Coast gangster rap scene in the early 90s. With dreams of starting a rap career, he moved to New York. But after he couldn't do anything in the birthplace of rap, he decided to head to Los Angeles.

Laws continued to struggle to make ends meet once in Los Angeles, but things began to change when she met West Coast rap legend DJ Quik. Quik took Laws under his wing and connected her to a group of rappers she would later work with, including AMG, who featured her on a song on his debut album.

In 1993, following the success of Queens-based band Onyx, Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons decided that the storied label needed to take full advantage of the growing popularity of gangster rap. He decided to start Los Angeles-based Def Jam West (DJ West) and seek out California artists who brought the same energy as his roster of NWA and Death Row hitmakers. Laws, who goes by the name BO$$, was Simmons' first DJ West signee and, in fact, was the first female rapper ever signed to Def Jam.

An acronym for Bi—es On Some Sh–, BO$$ was actually a duo consisting of Laws and her DJ, Irene “Dee” Moore. Their debut album Gangstaz was born was released in May 1993 and sold nearly 400,000 copies. It featured production from some of Def Jam's heavy hitters, including Jam Master Jay and Erick Sermon.

The Barry White-sampled “Deeper” was a standout track on the album and featured BO$$ talking about the stress of trying to keep money in her pocket without succumbing to the pull of the streets and falling deeper and deeper to a life of crime.

Despite the relative success of their debut, BO$$ never got the chance to release a follow-up project. After an album full of gangsters and street stories, a Wall Street Journal article questioned the veracity of Laws' claims. The result led to BO$$ being fired by DJ West.

In 2017, Laws suffered a stroke after being diagnosed with kidney disease. A 2021 GoFundMe raised $18,000 to help with her medical bills.

Following the news of her death, many rappers paid tribute to Laws with posts on social media.

Pioneer of hip-hop Kurtis Blow took to Instagram to pay his respects, writing: “The Hip Hip Alliance is saddened by the passing of our beloved 'BO$$'. Detroit's first female Gangsta rapper signed to Def Jam. He will never be forgotten and will live forever in our hearts. We send our sincere condolences to her family, friends, Detroit and the world. RIP legend.”

Koulouri B posted a photo of Laws on Instagram and called her “one of the best female MCs and a dear friend.”