The Kanye West musical family tree just keeps growing and adding branches, doesn’t it? Hate him or love him, a huge number of today’s artists owe at least a percentage of their styles to the artists he helped inspire, whether it’s Drake or Kid Cudi. Today’s UPROXX Sessions performer Boslen takes after the latter, incorporating Cudi’s signature hums and moans. If Travis Scott is Baby Cudi, Boslen might be Cousin Cudi, coming through with less distortion than Travis but more precise rapping than Kid Cudi himself on “Levels” from Boslen’s 2022 project Gonzo.
Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, Boslen describes himself in his bio as a “23-year-old hip-hop experimenter” who mixes “trap, pop, punk, and rock melodies” with an underdog mentality that drives him to put his seemingly far-flung hometown on hip-hop’s map. Pursuing rap after back-to-back ACL tears derailed his rugby scholarship at the University of Victoria, he proudly wears his Cudi and Kanye influence on his sleeve. With Gonzo dropping on June 24, the Columbia Records rapper will have the chance to make his own mark on hip-hop, perhaps even inspiring another branch on that ever-growing tree.
Watch Boslen’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Levels” above.
UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.