The 1993 debut album of Bo$$ (born Lichelle Laws) on the storied Def Jam label seamlessly mixes the lyrical speed and directness of her hometown Detroit, the gangsta mentality of the West Coast (she was based in L.A. for a time), and the knock of the East Coast – provided by a who’s who of Golden Age producers including Jam Master Jay of Run-D.M.C., MC Serch of 3rd Bass, Erick Sermon of EPMD, and AMG. Bo$$’s subject matter revels in gangsta rap tropes, but she effectively delivers them authoritatively and with personality, not to mention from an intriguing female point of view, even responding to the sexual wiles of men with casual violence.