Bou_YH
Bou
Silver Spring
Innovative beats are at the heart of 25-year-old rap artist Bou’s cutting edge music. With his extensive percussion skills, Bou initially thought that his gift was production. However, an interesting turn of events quickly ignited his passion for artistry. With two mixtapes under his belt, Bou has created a major buzz in DMV as an independent artist. Hailing from Silver Spring, Maryland, from a young age Bou was involved with and took an interest in music. He went on to play percussion throughout his school years which peaked his interest in producing music. Upon graduating from high school, Bou was accepted to Howard University where he studied communications. During his freshman year though, an incident with law enforcement resulted in him being on house arrest for five months. While still able to attend classes, his 5 p.m. curfew limited his social interactions. At that point, his friend Jason Harris aka JHarrisBeats would come visit and play Bou some of his beats. After one of their casual meetings, Bou requested that his friend send him some beats and from the moment he opened the email and listened to them, Bou knew he wanted to become an artist. A few short months after his initial inspiration, Bou released his first mixtape, “Rough Draft” in 2012. From this platform, he began to pursue his career in rap. With positive feedback and support from his community, Bou released his second mixtape, “Thesis” in 2013. Since catching the attention of listeners, Bou has created a buzz in the DMV Hip-Hop community. Bou counts Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G., Fabolous, T.I., and J. Cole as his musical inspirations. He was also heavily influenced by up and coming local rapper and childhood friend Frank Diggy, who was murdered in late 2012. Bou describes his music as “raw rap, authentic, and from the heart.” He raps about his life experiences in the streets in combination with what he has learned in the classroom.