Bossman, born Travis Holifield, was raised in the rough streets of Baltimore City yet did not become a product of his environment. Instead this talented young man took his experiences of growing up in a home with parents addicted to drugs and not knowing where the next meal would come from and transformed that into powerful words that were all too familiar to many living the same reality. His tracks became somewhat like street anthems to many.
Bossman began his career as a member of the group N.E.K., NorthEast Kings. In the group he was known as “Jimmy Hash.” The group gained lots of local success and popularity. In 2004, Bossman decided to go solo and released his debut album Law and Order. The singles “O” and “Off Da Record” took the streets by storm and were in heavy rotation on 92Q. These tracks were produced by 1Up Entertainment who also produced tracks for Raheem DeVaughn, J-Lo, Keisha Cole, Sisqo and Ice Cube. The independently released Law and Order album sold over 25,000 copies and got the attention of Jermaine Dupree who immediately signed Bossman to Virgin Records and So So Def within an hour of meeting the rapper. His career with the labels were short-lived and they parted ways in 2007.
The separation did not hinder Bossman’s success because he had several more hits in his arsenal that received heavy acclaim from his fans. “So Fresh” and “A-Yo” were featured on the soundtrack of “The Wire: Season 5.” “Handclap” was produced by Rocwilder on NBA Live 2007.
In 2009, Bossman released “Break Me Off” and once again took the Baltimore music scene by storm. The single received more requests than mainstream artists and was on heavy rotation on 92Q. He was even able to conjure up artists Gucci Mane, Jim Jones and Raheem DeVaughn to appear on the remix.
The Re-Up, in stores and iTunes today, features performance by Gucci Mane, Raheem DeVaughn, Jim Jones, Gym Class Heroes and many others. The journey for Bossman has been bumpy but he has not succumb to the stresses of the grind. He’s relentless and determined and we expect nothing but greatness from our hometown rapper.
(Pic of Bossman and yours truly, Robin Razzi)
