Born in London, raised in Ghana, and moved to New York City at the age of 18, Ria Boss is a singer/songwriter with a wealth of experience and culture to draw from. Reflected in her music, self-described as ambient, neo-soul, house, boom bap, and r&b, is the passion and vibrancy of a woman on the forefront of innovative, experimental, refreshingly original content creation. The highly intelligent, fascinating, beautiful, intriguing, and genial Ria Boss is currently setting stages ablaze across New York City. With her success and varied accomplishments growing, TheFriendterview was lucky to recently speak with this artist to tell her story in her own words.
Q. How did you get into music? When and how did you find your voice and decide to become an artist?
I grew up with veterinarian dreams like every kid that is obsessed with animals, so music wasn’t something that was at the forefront of my mind. But I remember I used to sing along to all my favorite Disney movies, favorite songs of the time. It wasn’t until one rainy drive with my mom on the Tema motorway (in Ghana), I think I was 9 or 10, that I realized I might have a gift. I had just seen the movie ‘Annie’ and I had just learned the song ‘Tomorrow’. Since it was a rainy day the radio service was a little spotty in the car. I was amusing myself by singing the song and my Mom all of a sudden sort of looks at me in a weird way and then tells me “Maria, you have a true voice. I had no idea what that meant. She went on to explain that I could sing things exactly as I heard them. Personally, I didn’t think that was a gift…I guess I assumed everyone could do that. It was after that day however that I started paying way more attention to my voice, trying to mimic everything I heard, challenging myself to sing Stevie Wonder songs, Bibie Brew songs, Sade songs, the list goes on. It wasn’t until I watch the Destiny’s Child documentary, you know the one? Where they show you all the rigorous training they did as a group? The running while you jog, the constant vocal training? I started doing all these, secretly mind you, I was a little shy of my voice, but even in secret I knew I was onto something. I started to take myself much more seriously in high school and college, and my artist self was born in 2012.
Q. What you are you currently working? What do you have coming up?
Well the past few months I have been somewhat preoccupied with my art works. I have recently jumped back into my love of abstract illustration, and released a series of prints under the collection ‘The Things We Say to Mask the Pain’ on my art site The Art of Being Ria. The project was inspired mostly by my daily struggles with depression and anxiety and how in public spaces I feel the need to suppress those vulnerabilities. Its been an amazing process because in sharing these pieces I have also been able to cultivate healthy ways to be honest about how I’m truly feeling. It is important in life that we are honest in our communications at all times regardless of how we may think it may come across. The constructs surrounding emotions can be very binding, we need to learn to give each other a little more support.
I have also been working on a project with my friend and collaborator Abel Shifferaw (DJ Inward/eastoaklandjq). We work together as a duo under the name ADISACRA, and have finished all tracks to release our very first EP. We have to have the music mixed and work on all our visuals, no dates have been set but that is another thing in the works.
I also have a show Tuesday Nov 3rd, for the Sound Chamber at Friends and Lovers in Brooklyn, followed by a headlining show December 10th at Leftfield, a venue I have played at a few times before. I am also working on a solo EP which I hope to drop before the year is out, mainly because I want people to get more of a sense of the direction I’m going in. Expect a lot of neo-soul nuances!
Q. So far, what are your most proud career accomplishments?
One of my proudest moments is getting to perform at The Brooklyn Museum at First Saturdays! It was for the opening of Ghanaian artist El Anatsui’s exhibition and I was just honored to be considered. The reception I got was nothing short of amazing. Another I would say is performing as backup for Nappy Nina and The Sons at the Soul of Bk festival. It was my first time on a festival stage, and getting to hang out behind the scenes as an artist. We were opening for Bilal, and being able to just have very down to earth interactions with musicians I admire was an amazing experience for me. Another accomplishment is more recent, I have almost hit 20,000 total plays on my Soundcloud! To some that might mean not mean anything, but to me, its completely humbling to know that people genuinely love my music enough to play it over and over again. It means that I’m onto something. And on the days I’m feeling low, or lost, I like to remind myself of these accomplishments.
I am an impulsive Sagittarius woman (right on the cusp so I have a little Scorpio in me), that being said, in my life, I’ve gained influences from a lot of different things, depending on my mind state of the time (if that makes sense). However, I am very much a romantic, hopelessly so. So in all things that is one of the underlying influences, that being said, life is a tumultuous little bitch aint she? I am so very affected (influenced) by everything around me, my interactions with people, my lows, my lower than lows, my ups, my fears, my frustrations. My best friend says I’m overly emotional and I think its because I’m that much more sensitive to everything.
Q. Who are some artists that inspire you?
Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone (my queen), Sade, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Frank Ocean, Adele, Sia, Hugh Masakela, Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti, and everything Soulection. (there are wayyyy more artists that inspire me to be honest but this is a little section)
Q. You’re such a traveler! How have your international travels influenced your career and what have they been like?
Man do I love to travel! I have been fortunate enough to have been able to travel almost all over the world from when I was really young. My grandmother used to take me everywhere she would go, Hawaii, Slovenia, Germany, Austria, the UK, the US, you name it, I went with my Grandmother. Being able to go to all these places (in some cases to visit family) really opened my eyes, from an early age. In terms of my career, travel is important for me in that it just helps me understand the world from varying perspectives. That helps when I write, because I can observe all different kinds of human interactions based on where in the world I am. Seeing couples in Paris versus seeing couples in Germany, taking long walks alone in Hawaii and meditating by the sea, all these things help me.
Q. What are some of your career goals at the moment?
Main career goal right now is to put together an amazing EP that does well all on its own. An EP so good that it gets me all the festival gigs I aspire to perform! I really want to play at AfroPunk, it would be a dream come true for me, I’d also really love to be able to go on a tour. My dream tour would be opening for King or Lianne La Havas or definitely The Internet!
Q. Who in the industry would you like to work with?
Work wise I really want to get in the studio with Iman Omari, his production skills are heavenly to me, I feel my style over his production would be an amazing pairing. I’d also love to sit in the studio with Rick Rubin, I would want him to tell me where my strong points are, what I should be working on more. I want to work with Missy Elliott so bad!!! I also think Sza and I on a song would be epic.
Q. How does the scene in New York compare to some of the other locations you have worked?
Now let me preface this with, I am not a native New Yorker. I am Ghanaian. Moved here in 2008 for college, and started my career as a gigging musician here. One thing I will say is this, its pays to network, it pays to get out there. I on the other hand, tend to be more on the homebody side, and don’t like forcing myself on people. So I don’t do as well in New York I think because I’m not always out there. That is my bad I know, but another thing I’ve noticed? New Yorkers ride hard for their own, if you are a born and raised New Yorker, chances are you went to high school here, you grew up with a lot of the people maybe working in the industries you are trying to break into, these native connections really do wonders also. It has only taught me that your home base support is the most genuine support you can get. On the contrary, I received by far the best reception in Seattle , and no one really knew who I was! The love there was organic, from the jump, I don’t feel that way about New York, at least not anymore. Oh and Philly receives new music well also! Another amazing location to play. I guess New York can be a little pretentious at times…but that may just be my personal experience with it, that and I’m not a hound lol. I can be on the shy side when it comes to networking so that may not work in my favor. I just let my talent speak for itself.
Q. What does your stage name mean for you?
My real name is Maria Bossman-Damiba (yes, the Bossman is really my name). I used to go by ‘Boss’ for a little while, but a fellow creative, Paapa hMensa told me one day how he though ‘Ria Boss’ had a certain ring to it, a presence to it almost. Some friends from childhood used to call me Ria (actually only two friends ever called me this Hi Naa Adjeley and Maame Suga!) so it came full circle really. Ria Boss is a bolder more eccentric version of me, she is my true cat lady crazy self. lol
Q. Style influences: who and what are they?
Style wise I am a comfort queen, so sweats, hoodies and mom jeans all day long. I think a lot of the more tomboy looks Rihanna does are my aesthetic. If its comfy chances are I’ll wear it haha. I need to get my hands on those Puma creepers asap!
https://www.facebook.com/riabossmeow
https://soundcloud.com/officialriaboss
http://riabossmeow.tumblr.com/
https://instagram.com/rivbxss/?hl=en
