BOSCO
⤏ IN CONVERSATION WITH CIANA ALESSI
⤏ PHOTOS BY SALIM GARCIA
⤏ PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2020
To speak with Bosco is to enter into a realm of inadequacy. She is, quite simply, doing The Most. Her most recent album “Someday This Will All Make Sense” is an R&B/soul classic for the ages and — at only 7 tracks — it leaves you craving more. Luckily, Bosco will be creating more luscious tunes in the near future, all while running an agency, raising a newborn, and being unreasonably fashionable.
CIANA ALESSI: So this is the only mandatory question, what’s your sun, moon, and rising?
BOSCO: I’m a Capricorn. My moon is in Pisces. My rising is in Gemini.
CA: Ooh! That’s a really interesting combination.
B: Right? I’m so complex!
CA: Would you consider yourself to be talkative?
B: I talk all day. I have this big personality online, but my home life I’m so quiet. When I’m home I’m like, ‘peace, incense, and oils.’
CA: It’s nice to have that balance though. Do you feel like you filter your online persona to a certain degree?
B: I think now I’ve learned to mix the two. I used to separate them. After these last two years, I feel like people really appreciate seeing the vulnerability of who I am. Yes I am a multidisciplinary artist, but there’s a human quality that I think people want to relate to. So I don’t try to compartmentalize them as much as I used to. I feel like social media has evened the playing field for artists and creatives where, back in the day, idols didn’t feel tangible. Now you could send a DM to Beyoncé. Before they were a figment of your imagination.
CA: Do you ever dare to scroll through the comments?
B: When my confidence levels are at a ten, I’ll do it. When I first started music, I was eager to know everything that people were saying about me. As I matured in my field, it has become less about what others say and more about giving my art to the universe. Once you let it go, it doesn’t belong to you anymore. I have an assurance within myself that I’m creating something that’s for me.
CA: So I read a 2014 interview and you were quoted as saying that you wanted to bring back the “girlfriend song,” and I feel like there’s so much warmth and nostalgia in that statement. Do you feel like that’s a sentiment you still hold?
B: I feel the “girlfriend song” now has translated into the community song. It’s about sharing visibility for our culture, for people of color in general. I think the space I want to occupy is showing a level of self excellence. My story has changed. Right now it’s about how we create spaces and how we create a community. My focus has changed a little bit because of SLUG, too. We are trying to show other POC designers and tastemakers and creatives and illustrators and animators that this is a safe space for you. You can be your absolute authentic whatever-the-fuck-you-wanna-be self. I find more satisfaction in that now. Success to me is providing a space for the girls that look like me, that may not have anyone else.
“It has become less about what others say and more about giving my art to the universe. Once you let it go, it doesn’t belong to you anymore.”
CA: When you’re younger you’re always focused on individual growth, and then as you grow up, it’s about focusing on collective growth.
B: We really need it.
CA: It seems like SLUG Agency is really focusing and honing in on community spaces online. SLUG TV is super cool! Is that something you planned pre-pandemic or was it spur of the moment?
B: SLUG started out as an art collective, but the agency side took a hold of the vision. This year, we want to take back some of our power, and not give into all of these brands and corporations. We need to hold onto our power and give back to the community! We wanted to do more collaborative things, instead of just services for other people. I thought SLUG TV would be later down the line, but our Social Media Community Manager said, “I think this is the perfect time to pivot.” We just want to create cool content and take up space, but space that helps people. The internet is so crowded right now.
CA: It’s too much.
B: It’s too crowded and I’ve been thinking of ways that we can set ourselves apart from what everyone else is doing.
CA: IGTV is popping off right now, and I love the angle. I wrote down in my notes that it’s like MTV News meets All That.
B: I’m so glad you get it. That’s exactly what we’re trying to tap into! We want to get into meme news where we break down the anatomy of memes. We want to take a really serious subject and break it down into really silly humor. There’s so much fear in the news, we need news that uplifts us and gives us hope and joy and laughter.
CA: Like a positive distraction! Do you enjoy staying busy?
B: I think I’m just built that way. I’ve learned to pace myself since I’ve been with child. I’m learning healthy boundaries and how to say no. That really was the key for me. I’m sort of a people-pleaser, so saying no has really helped my stress levels. You have to really listen to yourself, buckle down and say, “No, I don’t wanna do that.” I think Americans are so spoiled. We don’t realize the difference between isolation and solitude. Solitude will allow you to heal and birth new ideas. In America, not working actually scares us into stress and panic and anxiety. In other countries, they have basic needs met. Money might not be coming in, but you’re taking care of your temple. I don’t think our country has ever stopped to think about that part.
“We don’t realize the difference between isolation and solitude.”
CA: There’s so much emphasis, especially online right now, on productivity. But that’s not what this time is for. It’s the opposite. We need to take care of ourselves, especially as women of color. It’s really hard to recognize when you’re stretching yourself too thin and agreeing to things just so you don’t seem unagreeable. Hypothetically, outside of social distancing, if you had a Sunday morning where you could do anything you wanted, what would you do?
B: I’d be at the beach with my journal listening to Bossa Nova with a glass of chilled rosé. And probably doing a little bit of manifesting and some gratitude work.
CA: That sounds extremely tranquil. I wish that would’ve been my answer. How has it been keeping your pregnancy under wraps? Is that a step you needed to take?
B: I had planned to keep it under wraps until the last trimester, and then the pandemic happened. I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better situation. I would’ve been in Europe right now doing all kinds of shit, and god was like, “Nope! You’re gonna be at home taking care of yourself.” The name of my music project is “Some Day This Will All Make Sense.” I’ve always believed that every step, every milestone, every failure, every success will make sense in your favor. So, why would I stop believing my own mantra because of a pandemic? Maybe I was just supposed to be birthing two really big projects at the same time. Maybe that’s my story. Maybe I was supposed to show other artists out there that you can be a boss ass bitch and still be a mom!
CA: Would you say that you’re a spiritual person?
B: Yes. I need something to chill me out. I need grounding. I’m a Capricorn, so we’re very rooted people, and when we don’t feel rooted we feel a lot of anxiety. We love stability. I think that’s where my peace lies. My peace lies in spirituality or an elevated consciousness. I need to float in my gifts freely and not be frustrated.
CA: Do you have a particular practice?
B: I’m really into aromatherapy, I’m into teas, I’m into planting things. I just started a garden.
CA: With gardening, you are physically nourishing something. You can feel a sort of peace in that mutual growth. I know you’re back in your hometown of Savannah. Do you feel like being back home helped your transition into motherhood?
B: Yes. I have been moving around since 2014. I think I’m in a time of my life right now where I need to be back where I came from to know where I’m going. A lot of people get lost in their way to the top because they don’t remember the blueprint that got them there. Reconnecting with my family, my high school friends, my college friends, seeing old photos of myself is reminding me that I’ve come a long way. This trip has been reaffirming that I’m on the right track. Sometimes I get in my head and think I’m not doing enough, but then I look at a picture from college where my hair is pink and over-processed, and I remember I’ve come a long way and I need to chill.
CA: Are you fully relocated or are you just there for the time being?
B: I’m here for the time being until the universe tells me where to go. I’m definitely going to have my baby here. I think being connected to my family right now is the most important for that nurturing. There’s nothing going on in LA right now anyway.
CA: It’s true, there’s pretty much no reason to be here.
B: I thought I’d be missing out, but I’m actually not missing anything.
“Why would I stop believing my own mantra because of a pandemic? Maybe I was just supposed to be birthing two really big projects at the same time. Maybe that’s my story.”
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⤏ CIANA ALESSI (SHE/HER) IS A LOS ANGELES-BASED WRITER, SCHEANA SHAY IMPERSONATOR, AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR FOR JR HI THE MAGAZINE. ORIGINALLY FROM BUFFALO, NY, CIANA LOVES WATCHING SHREK, LISTENING TO ABBA, AND PRETENDING SHE’S NOT VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE O.C. GETTING TAKEN OFF HULU. HER WORK CENTERS ON CONTEMPLATING THE NUANCES OF MISCELLANEOUS POP CULTURE AND PROVIDING INTERSECTIONAL CRITIQUES OF CONSUMERISM. EVEN THOUGH FAYE HATES TO SEE IT, SHE’S A LIBRA. IN HER FREE TIME, SHE FILLS HER IPHONE MEMORY WITH PICTURES OF HER PUG, DUCK, AND IS GENERALLY INDECISIVE.