Bo$$ (Lady the Boss & Dee Tha Mad Bitch) -1993- Born Gangstaz (Dj West, Columbia)

• Bo$$ : Bitches On Some Shit
  
• Dee the Mad Bitch recorded two tracks with 2Pac ("Mind of a Bad Boy" and "Judgement Day")
  

 

 Discogs page

Listen to that album here and there

1. Intro: A Call From Mom
2. Deeper feat. Papa Juggy (dancehall)
3. Comin' To Getcha feat. Erick Sermon (backing)
4. Mai Sista Izza Bitch feat. AMG
5. Thelma & Louise
6. Drive By*
7. Progress Of Elimination
8. Livin' Loc'd feat. Sticky Fingaz (Onyx)
9. Recipe Of A Hoe
10. A Blind Date With Boss feat. Onyx*
11. Catch A Bad One*
12. Born Gangsta feat. Admiral D (dancehall)*
13. 1-800-Body-Bags feat. Def Jef
14. Diary Of A Mad Bitch*
15. 2 To Da Head*
16. I Don't Give A Fuck*
17. Outro: A Call From Dad

* featuring Dee tha Mad Bitch

Produced by Def Jef (1,2,5,7,11,13,17), Erick Sermon (3, 15), AMG (4, 12), Stone Tha Lunatic (6), Chyskillz & Jam Master Jay (8), Mic Professah (9), Tracey Waples (10), MC Serch & T-Ray (14, 16)

back cover : Lady the Boss is alone
in the front cover, she was in the right side and Dee in the left 

Bo$$ is at the same time the name of the group - with two female rappers called Lady the Boss and Dee tha Mad Bitch - and the alias of one of them... Def Jef, who released two conscious solo albums in 1989 and 1991 is the main producer of the album ; it is funny to notice that he will have a part in 2Pac's R U Still Down credited for remixing "I'm Loosing It" (or could he be the original producer ?).

Lady the Boss put her first verse in 1990 for the introduction track "Knowledge is Power"to the Detroit compilation of the same name. Then she gave a verse on the track "One Nation" for the album of St. Louis artist Sylk Smoov in 1991.

After that it is difficul to know if she went to L.A. or if she met Dee first. DJ Quik invited Lady the Boss for the track "Mai Sista izza Bitch" in AMG album in 1991. On that track, she talked about "me and the D double E". Dee tha Mad Bitch has a solo in the Zebrahead soundtrack with "Explanation of a Bitch" (aka "Diary of a Mad Bitch", included here) in 1992, but it could have been recorded before... Anyway, they released their first 12'' in 1992 : "I Don't Give A Fuck" with "My Sista izza Bitch" as a b-side.

But before they achieve the recording of the album, the duo splitted and Lady went solo under the name of Bo$$ (it is said something like that Lady was turning paranoiac or unsociable). So most of the tracks of the album have only Lady the Boss rapping. Certainly she is the best rapper of the two, but it is good to have a conterpoint to see the difference. And... it is important to keep the balance of what is good to do and say. It seems that after the album, Lichelle Laws aka Lady the Boss fell slowly, unable to play her role...

 

The main problem of the album is its title... for a rapper who is not coming from the street, it is a certitude for everybody that Bo$$ is acting like a gangsta... The emphasis of the cover didn't help neither... And from the first track of the album, Lady's mother reminds her that she received a good education, dance lessons, etc... and that she doesn't like what she is doing. 

 

Progress of Elimination 12'' with "Progress" Niggaz Iz Dyin Remix

There is some kind of game with that gangsta imagery by Boss. She acts like a real gangster during interviews but she doesn't hide her origins. Of course people couldn't see the autoderision and the "second degree", that was nothing but obvious. For later cemments, she was acting like many other male gangsta rappers, building herself an image in the medias. But everything is like it wasn't acceptable for a girl to be fake... 

And Bo$$, despite her obvious huge rapping talent, fell back in the unknown. Going back to Detroit, trying to build her a new life, struggling with sickness...

Deeper 12'' with b-side :
Drive By (Rollin' Slow Remix) by DJ Premier & Erick Sermon !!!

Not a lot is known about her partner Dee the Mad Bitch, who met and rap with 2Pac in late 93. But Lichelle Laws aka Bo$$ has some common points with 2Pac. Apart from the good education, the good school, the dance lessons, she's not from the west side but from Detroit. When she arrived in L.A., she spend many time living in the street, without ressources. This is probably there that she met Dee and that she acquired her determination, her bad girl or bad bitch spirit (like for 2Pac in Marin City). She is also the cousin of Sticky Fingaz from Onyx.

Anyway, 2Pac declared that it was the best female rap group. This is probably the reason why he invited Dee tha Mad Bitch to join the Thug Life at the end of '93. A pity that it failed because Dee was also a really good rapper.

Beginnings for a second album with the 12'' Run, Catch & Kill (1994).
It was supposed to be called They Don't Have The Body Count but nothing more came...