So often we’ve heard stories of young African-American males succumbing to the call of
inner city street life by chasing the dream of expensive cars and fast money. Having
parents who battled drug addiction and were in and out of prison, one would expect a
child to be influenced by the major authority figures in their lives but not Travis
“Bossman” Holifield, who found sanctuary in writing and creating music.
Growing up in Baltimore City home of HBO’s “The Wire” and “Homicide: Life on the
Streets”, Bossman was able to put a positive spin on the negative light that his city
has been placed in creating and selling hit mix tapes which would give birth to
Baltimore’s street anthem “O” and the hit singles “I Did It” and “Off da Record” which
was a five minute record that flooded the Mid-Atlantic as it touched on real life
topics such as politics relating not only to music but the world and religion . These
songs and four others were produced by 1 Up Entertainment who has also produced tracks
for mainstream artist such as Keyshia Cole, J-Lo, Jahiem, Raheem DeVaughn, Sisqo, and
Ice Cube. Those mix tape would go on to sell 25,000 copies leading to Bossman’s
independently released “Law and Order” which sold 10,000 copies just months after it’s
release date.
With a successful grind and remarkable hustle Bossman’s dreams seemed within reach
when in 2005, he was approached by Jermaine Dupri who signed him to Virgin Records
just thirty minutes after their initial meeting. Although the relationship with
Virgin Records would be a brief one, Bossman had three songs in heavy rotation and
sold an additional 30,000 mix tapes before he and Virgin would part ways in the summer
of 2007.
To some this would be a set-back but to Bossman this was his time to shine having his
songs “So Fresh” and “A-Yo” on “The Wire: Season 5” Soundtrack as well as the hit
“Handclap” produced by Rocwilder on NBA Live 2007. Bossman also continues to perform
throughout the US and is currently working on his latest album “Home of The Wire”
which will allow him to musically express real life struggles relating to life in
Baltimore City the way only a native Baltimorean can. The album will also include a
video documentary based on his life experiences and proving that nothing is
impossible.
