The Savannah-born, Atlanta-based singer BOSCO is the kind of chameleonic artist who finds comfort in any arrangement. A product of the left-of-trap movement responsible for acts like Hollyweerd, the Pheels, Kona, and Janelle Monáe’s Wondaland collective, her sound is a linchpin that bridges all gaps in the local music scene—a storehouse of ingenuity eclipsed by rap titans who rule the roost with swagged-out turn-up anthems. Their omnipresence limits the popular narrative about the city’s output to slab music, amphetamine-positive dope-boy anthems, and their bubblegum derivatives. Inclusive of that culture but not ruled by it, BOSCO is the hybrid of modern Atlanta’s most important musical movements with the chops to elevate a different side of the south to a global stage.
First catapulted by the 2008 Spectrum EP, Brittany Bosco nurtured a national following with a sound influenced by Sarah Vaughn, Gnarls Barkley, TLC, and Janis Joplin. She arrived as a multilingual artist fluent in every modern chapter of popular music with an appropriately emotive vocal talent. Propelled by the single “Gold Ghost,” BOSCO floated gracefully above the tick of the trap on the 2015 BOY EP, channeling “Rock the Boat”-era Aaliyah and proving her capacity for the same kind of ambient around-the-way ballads that catapulted Ty Dolla $ign. She followed with 2016’s Girls in the Yard, co-produced with DJ Speakerfoxxx. Referencing house, stadium pop, and dancehall riddims, they created a body-moving dance-party opus that feted Missy Elliott. The direct lyricism, rhythmic alchemy, and experimental production that took shape across the preceding releases are perfected on b.
Recorded in Atlanta, New Orleans, and Los Angeles and described as an “ongoing art project,” the eight-track b. is a snapshot of BOSCO’s personal life driven by love, lust, and self-discovery. After the whimsical but forgettable opener “Adrenaline,” BOSCO sets the bar with the sickening breakup fanfare “Castles.” Delicate vocals collide with staccato piano and wobbling bass as BOSCO proclaims her freedom. Anna Wise joins her on “We Cool ” and their playful harmonies channel Hadley Street-era Solange as BOSCO muses about where she stands in the arena of love. Ditching the rose-colored lenses by “Cruel,” BOSCO applies a cold, satin tone to the aftermath of a love affair, leveling “So why do we cry, when we both know it’s the end?”
The project is a chronicle of her missteps and imperfections that finds BOSCO fully settled into womanhood and eager to take greater ownership of her life and work. By abandoning the “Milkshake” frivolity of Girls in the Yard and the brooding affect of BOY, BOSCO leaves herself room to embrace and explore womanhood in an environment that edifies the musical moments that reared her. Where the material is noticeably weak, a breathy, “too cool for school” timbre is to blame. She is adept at channeling Brandy’s smoky, understated runs and the disaffected charm of alt-rock, but missing is a more nuanced range—a shame, but it’s something that exists all over her previous work.
Nevertheless, BOSCO originates from the space where black music breaks away from the “urban” monolith. Underground and mainstream ideals coexist within each arrangement on b. because she, herself, has never chosen a side. She is crucial to the musical arc of Atlanta and the evolution of black music precisely because of this. Standing at the intersection of the old Atlanta and the Afro-future, BOSCO is the author of an avant iteration of the A-Town sound and b. positions herself to be the city’s title contender instead of just your fave’s fave.
