Local rapper distributes addictive beats that have caught the ear's of many.
Domestic violence and abuse, severe accidents and being laid off from work would cause the average person to give up their dreams and aspirations, but for George Abourjeili (Boston George) the opposite happened. Boston George turned his negative life experiences into an up and coming career.
The date is 1985 within the country of Lebanon. Boston's father kisses his pregnant wife goodbye as she flees the war-torn country for the United States
His father remains in Lebanon as a guerrilla fighter in the war, while he flees the war zone approximately one year later to join his family in the land of prosperity.
During Boston's early childhood his parents would separate four or five times, causing Boston and his mother to move between family in Los Angeles and Miami. In 1999 his father left the U.S. due to legal problems, leaving Boston in a broken home.
Boston George suffered a major accident which would set the stage for his entrance into music. On Sept. 1997 While playing basketball, an errant shot bounced over a
wall. As he was climbing over the wall it crumbed and collapsed on top of him. His right leg was broken in 12 places, requiring several surgeries leaving his leg 2-3 inches shorter than the other.
Boston spent the next year visiting doctors and therapists to recover from the accident. During this down time Boston took an interest in writing and reading poetry.
"That's what got me into poetry, I was at home all the time being home-schooled, and one of my English subjects involved poetry, I started out by just writing and making words rhyme," Boston said.
During high-school, Boston began to develop his craft.
"About the 9th grade when I got into High-School, I would see people free-styling at lunch, and I began listening to more hip-hop music," said Boston.
Not giving up on his prior craft, Boston entered one of his poems into an online poetry contest. His poem was selected to be published in a compilation book of poems.
Abourjeili moved from Poetry to Rap music when his friend introduced him to a hip-hop producer.
"In 2000 or 2001, me and a friend in high school started to rap. My neighbor's boyfriend was a hip hop producer; I was introduced to him and he gave me some beats to rap over," Boston said.
He honed his craft in local freestyle battles and performances, while releasing hip-hop mix tapes. He recorded two mix tapes, which he released independently around the Los Angeles area. Mix tapes are a way for hip-hop artists to generate buzz, which is exactly what happened to Boston.
Boston decided to learn more about the music industry, and enrolled in the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, where he took courses in music publishing, managing
and Artists & Repertoire of the music industry. He would expand on this new found knowledge during internships at major labels, including Columbia records.
His education became vital as his mix tapes continued to create a buzz in the industry, which lead to him being approached by a producer to put out an album.
The producer had enough faith in Boston that he partnered with him on the costs of producing the album. The producer gave Boston free studio time in exchange for a
percentage of the album's revenue.
His debut album "Blow" was independently released last August. Last November Boston received his next big break when he opened a show for DJ Quick and Warren G. During the set he performed with Hitman, who was promoting his new EP. Hitman is featured on several tracks on Dr. Dre's most known album "Chronic 2001."
Boston continued to work on his craft, while performing at smaller venues and making industry contacts when ever he could.
Boston's next show would come last month when he opened for The Game in Anaheim.
Following in the footsteps of his first show, he once again performed a portion of his set with Hitman.
"We got a good response the first time, so we decided to do it again for The Game show" Boston said.
He is continuing to promote his album, while working on a new mix tape. His next mix tape, coming out in April, will feature Hitman and up-and-coming Cash Money
Records artist Glasses Malone.
"Glasses Malone has shown me a lot of love and respect, he let me know if I ever needed anything, then he would help me out any way he could," Boston explained.
His relationship with Hitman may lead to more exposure down the road, as Hitman is currently working on Dr. Dre's long awaited
new album "Detox."
"Dre is going to be doing do his last tour for this album and Hitman will be working to get me on the tour or after parties," Boston said.
Even though growing up Boston didn't have good models for relationships, it is evident that he knows the value they hold to his success as an artist.
"Lately it's all about building relationships with a lot of different people," Boston explains.
You can catch Boston George this Thursday at 8:30 p.m. when he performs with Bishop Lamont at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood.
