Bossman, aka Travis Holifield or Jimmy Hash, is a

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He has appeared on mixtapes promoted by

DJ Kayslay Keith Grayson (August 14, 1966 – April 17, 2022), professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, was an American disc jockey (DJ) from New York City. He is referred to by ''The New York Times'' as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He released fou ...

who is well known through Baltimore Club music. Bossman began his rapping career as a part of N.E.K (Northeast Kings) where he was known as "Jimmy Hash". The rap group gained a moderate level of popularity throughout Baltimore. Bossman has released his debut album ''Law and Order'' in 2004 in Baltimore only as well as

Mixtapes A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

hosted by

DJ Envy RaaShaun Casey (born September 3, 1977), known professionally as DJ Envy, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record producer, and radio personality.DJ Envyat AllmusicBaker, Al (May 13, 2006D.J. Is Arrested Over His Threat to Rival's Child ''The ...

and

Big Mike Big Mike is a nickname of: People with the nickname * Stormzy (born 1993), British grime artist and rapper * Mike Abrams (criminal) (died 1898), American underworld criminal * Michael Clemente (1908-1987), American mobster * Michael Clarke Dunc ...

Early life

Bossman was born Travis Holifield and grew up in Northeast Baltimore,

. When he was 11, Holifield's parents were sent to prison for their involvement in a robbery, and he and his younger sister lived under the care of their grandmother for the next two years until their mother was released. During his time as a student at Hamilton Middle School, he had his first experiences performing when he and a childhood friend performed a

Kris Kross Kris Kross was an American hip hop duo that consisted of Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. Kris Kross was the youngest hip-hop duo to gain success, with gold and platinum albums at 12 and 13 years old. The duo was discover ...

song at local talent shows. Shortly thereafter, Holifield and friends created the underground hip hop group N.E.K., or Northeast Kings.

Jena 6

Bossman is a supporter of the Jena 6 and made a song called ''Far Too Long'' dedicated to the Jena 6. He released it on hi
Myspace page
The song first appeared on DJ D-Mob'
Put B-More On The Map Volume 7
mixtape which came out October 27, 2007 o
Datpiff
It later appeared on the N.E.K mixtape ''N.E.K All Day Part 1''.

Album History

Law & Order

Bossman's Debut album was called ''Law & Order''. The album was released on December 21, 2004 on Double Down Entertainment and was produced by 1Up productions (which is now known as ''1Up Entertainment''). Its original single was "Oh!" (also known by his fans as ''The Baltimore Anthem'') and was produced by Baltimore Club producer Rod Lee. Its second single became ''Off da Record'' after it got massive radio play on 92Q and was produced by 1Up Productions, Off Da Record was the song that got

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

to sign Bossman to

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

and his label

So So Def So So Def Recordings is an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and owned by producer Jermaine Dupri, specializing in Southern hip hop, R&B and bass music. So So Def has managed artists such as Bow Wow, Kris Kross, T ...

The Re-Up

''The Re-Up'' is marked as Bossman's second LP release since 2004 and is due for a June 8, 2010 release via Myspace Records/Interscope. The original title of the album was Home Of The Wire but was changed to The Re-Up in October 2009. The first single was supposed to be "Colors" but was switched to "Ghetto" featuring former

Dru Hill Dru Hill is an American R&B group, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 and is still active. Dru Hill recorded seven Top 40 hits, and is best known for the R&B number-one hits ...

member scola. The Second single was Break Me Off. The album was officially released June 15, 2010.

From Virgin to Sony Urban Music to Myspace Records/Interscope

In early August 2007, Bossman left Virgin Records right after their deal with Capitol Records, Bossman signed a $2.5 million-plus deal with Sony Records under the

Sony Urban Music Sony Urban Music was a division of Sony BMG, active from 2004 to 2006, The division handled R&B, soul, and hip hop releases by artists nominally signed to Sony's Columbia and Epic labels. During its existence, Sony Urban managed releases by ar ...

label, later after he signed, Bossman announced that his long-awaited major debut album version of this 2004 Baltimore Underground album "Law & Order" will be officially released in mid December 2007. While he's got his fans getting ready for his album, he released a Pre-album CD entitled ''End Of Discussion'' which is only found in Baltimore stores only. Five Days after End Of Discussion released, it then went o
Datpiff
as a free download. End Of Discussion also came with another mixtape called ''The Overdose'' which was by N.E.K member

Dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, U ...

. Recently, Bossman featured on the song "Rain" With

Myspace Records MySpace Records was a record label founded in 2005 to sign artists who appeared on the social networking site Myspace. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Myspace, operating as a joint-venture between MySpace and Interscope Records. Distributio ...

artist Jeremy Greene. The Single released on the iTunes store July 22, 2008 and its Bossman's first major guest appearance since "A-Yo!" was released. Also on Bossman's track featuring Raheem Devaughn entitled " I Wonder" he states that he closed his deal with Myspace Records becoming an official artist of the label. Myspace Records is distributed by powerhouse music label Interscope. A music video for the song was then recorded by Sleeping Giant Media and directed by Gearie "The Grench" Bowman. It was released on August 26, 2008 on Sleeping Giant's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

page making it Bossman's first music video. On April 14, 2009,

MySpace Records MySpace Records was a record label founded in 2005 to sign artists who appeared on the social networking site Myspace. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Myspace, operating as a joint-venture between MySpace and Interscope Records. Distributio ...

officially released "Break Me Off" on

Amazon MP3 Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights m ...

and the iTunes store as his first single for his upcoming album "Home Of The Wire. Bossman has also released two new mixtapes. The first mixtape was called ''ATM: After These Messages'' and the second mixtape was called ''Street Kings''. In November 2009, Bossman released and EP with MySpace Records entitled ''B.O.S.S Vol. 1: Based On Struggle and Success''.

Discography

Albums

* Law & Order (2004) (Album released only in

) * The Re-Up (June 15, 2010) * Law & Order II (2017) * The Gift (2019) * Power (2019) * Target Practice (2020)

EPs

B.O.S.S Vol. 1: Based On Struggle and Success (2009)

Mixtapes

* This Is A Warning ( hosted by

) (2005) * Yellow Tape (hosted by DJ Envy &

) (2005) * Bulletproof B (2006) * No Law No Order - The Pre Album (hosted by DJ Lil Skrilla) (2007) * End Of Discussion (2007) * N.E.K All Day Part 1 (Group mixtape) (2008) * Obama Or Else (2008) * ATM: After These Messages (2009) * Street Kings (2009) * BlockWork (2010) Hosted By DJ Jabril * M.O.P (Money Over Pussy) (2010) * SwaggKillers (2011) * Dream B.I.G (Tribute to Biggy Smalls) (2011) * Watch the Throne (2012)

Singles

Music Video

Mixtapes & Albums He Has Appeared On

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

Soundtrack (His song "A-Yo!" appeared on both versions of the soundtrack) * Baltimore Real Talk DVDs #1 & #4 (Bmore's #1 and only national DVD series)

References

External links

Bossman Music Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bossman 1984 births Living people Rappers from Baltimore 21st-century American rappers African-American male rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people