Caturday with BOSCO

India Hendrikse

It would be remiss not to acknowledge that almost every artist we know is in lockdown right now, just like us. Begone are the barriers that separated creator from consumer – we’ve all found new common ground by being mutually forced to spend our time indoors. Suddenly we’re seeing actors and musicians in their own homes, bare-faced and creating in makeshift bedroom studios. But although life as we know it is on hold – art certainly isn’t. Glimmers of magic are arising out of the chaos, and pre-lockdown creations are emerging, lyrics and meaning taking on new facades in the context of a pandemic. One such creation is multi-disciplinary artist BOSCO’s new album, fittingly, and coincidentally, titled One Day This Will All Make Sense. The multi-hypen artist began as a burgeoning black voice in Atlanta, before moving to Los Angeles. Her R&B, soul-infused tracks consist of smooth vocals and cool beats, and have collected a glossy array of critical reviews, including the tick of approval from Pitchfork, who stated she was “crucial to the musical arc of Atlanta and the evolution of black music.” In the wake of the release of her seven-track project, BOSCO sat down to talk about finding herself, her musical process, and championing black voices.

IH: Right now, we’re all in lockdown. The smallest parts of our days – such as what we ate for breakfast – have become the parts of normality that we cling on to. I saw you’re growing your own vegetables. What are your favourite meals to eat right now?
B: I eat a lot of plant-based foods so I enjoy the simple things like juicing, blending, and mixing herbs at the moment. I’m also into salads and anything pickled right now. My palette is very broad so I’ll try anything. I made shrimp with yum yum sauce for the first time last week that turned out pretty good. You can use it on any fried rice or seafood dish. 
IH: Your new album is titled Someday This Will All Make Sense. What is the “This” referring to?
B: ”This” is all-encompassing, it’s every intricate detail that has happened in your life that has led to “that/this” defining moment. I remember in 2016/17 when my partner Chibu Okere and I were building SLUG, that was for sure a defining moment where we knew we were building something that the culture needed. It was something that was bigger than him and I. 
IH: Your music draws on personal experiences unique to being a woman of colour. What particular aspects of growing up as a black woman in Atlanta influenced your music?
B: What speaks to me as being a black artist in the south as a whole is reshaping what society has marked and pigeonholed us into. We were truly made for so much more. The lack of true representation of black women was giving visibility to a high conscience level of work in all mediums, a wealth of knowledge, and true community building within our culture and sub-cultures. By doing this, we were able to build experiential events, panels, community service, workshops and more.
IH: What kind of mood to you imagine or hope Someday will create when people play it?
B: I want them to feel like they are on a journey to some sort of elevated experience or alternate reality. I bit of escapism mixed with their own realities.
IH: Tell us a little about your baby, SLUG Records…
It’s basically an extension of SLUG global which is the media/art side of what we do. My goal is to create a home for multi-disciplinary artists like myself who are well-versed in different mediums but don’t necessarily know how to showcase all their skillsets. I think there isn’t enough visibility to those types of artists. Music is the focal point but the art/design component is so important as well. I want to offer artists a platform where they can work with a team that really understands their needs when it comes to digitally marketing themselves and how they want to be presented to the world.
IH: Artists often have rituals when it comes to creating. What do you do – both tangibly and mentally – to get into the song-writing state of mind?
B: I honestly just have to be in a good environment with lots of incense and candles, aromatherapy just does it for me. Natural sunlight in any working space soothes me as well. I light up a J and let the music float across my skin and talk with the producers about what the sonics make me feel and we start to go in and explore. 
IH: Describe R&B in three words.
B: Spirit, heartbeat, blue. 
IH: Our teenage years are often the time where we expand and explore with our music tastes. What music did you have on repeat as a teenager? How did the Atlanta music scene influence you?
I grew up in Savannah, Georgia, so I listened to a lot of soul and alternative music because it was a historic city but also a beach town so I had the best of both worlds. I grew up listening to Sade, Incubus, Switchfoot, Creed, Brandy, Destiny’s Child, Cassandra Wilson, Sarah Vaughan, Alanis Morissette, The Blow, TLC, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Rob Thomas, Dave Matthews Band… the list goes on and on. 
IH: I can imagine if Clueless had been made in 2020, Cher and Dionne would be taking their cues from your Instagram feed. How would you describe your style?
B: I think my style is a mix of tomboy chic with a little hippie aesthetic splashed in there. I love bucket hats so much. For me personally, comfort is key! I love colour, patterns and textures. 
IH: Wardrobe staples?
I have to have hats, cool sneakers or oddly shaped shoes, blazers and a classic pair of jeans. Oversize shirts with stacked Dr. Martens are like my favourite go-to. 
IH: And finally, if you were to play one song to finalise the end of this current crisis, and a new beginning (when we’re eventually all allowed out), what would it be? What song gives you hope?
B: Soul II Soul – Keep on moving.

Click to listen to BOSCO’s playlist