In July 2020, a song by Ghanaian soul singer, songwriter and producer, Ria Boss debuted on HBO, the American pay television network and BBC One, the first flagship television network of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Titled ‘Intro,’ the song plays as Terry (Weruche Opia) and Kwame (Paapa Essiedu) engage in a heartfelt chat in a bathtub in episode 7 of ‘I May Destroy You,’ the critically acclaimed British comedy-drama television series created, written, co-directed, and executive produced by Michaela Coel who also plays the lead role of Arabella in the show.
The song is off ‘BORNDAY’ EP – one of 11 EPS Ria released within 11 weeks on her #ThankGodItsRia project between September and November 2018. She produced, mixed and mastered the song herself.
Maria Emmanuelle Grace Bossman-Damiba was born in London to Ghanaian and Burkinabe diplomat parents. She was raised in Ghana, and relocated to the United States of America in her late teens.
She moved back to Ghana in 2017, and in the same year released her debut EP ‘Find Your Free’ - a body of work projecting self-love, finding happiness, the need for everyone to be comfortable with who they are, and healing from trauma through emotional honesty and growth.
Ria, who grew up on her mother’s playlist of songs by artistes including Stevie Wonder, Toni Braxton, and Hugh Masekela, has shared that her craft is influenced by the likes of D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, the Isley Brothers and Lauryn Hill.
Ria Boss talks to GQ about her song being featured in ‘I May Destroy You,’ a series that the L.A Times says “has the coolest music on TV.”
GQ: Can you speak about the process through which your song was licensed for ‘I May Destroy You’? How did they reach out to you? How did you find out about the selected song? How did it all come about?
RB: In 2018, I had the chance to meet and talk with Michaela Coel when she visited Ghana. She is quite close to singer/songwriter lady Jay, who is a friend. I think Lady Jay shared my work with her. We met on a… I would say friendly basis, not a professional one because I was not trying to pitch my work to be featured in her shows.
A couple of months ago, Lady Jay says to me, “Michaela is looking for you.’ My response was: ‘hold on. Michaela Coel? Looking for me? Ria? Are you sure?’ And she says ‘yeah, she’s looking for you because she needs one of your songs!’
At the time, I really didn’t know what she needed it for but I was more than happy to collaborate with her in any capacity so I told Lady to pass along my information. And I got an email from Ciara Elwis, music supervisor of the show basically saying they wanted to license one of my songs for a show. At the time, I didn’t know what the show was. They’d given it a different name. It was only about two weeks prior to the episode airing that I got to know it was actually on ‘I May Destroy You’ and I started freaking out because I had no idea. I was already watching the show because I am a fan. When I found out I was completely floored but quite thankful.
Funny enough, it was a song that I hadn’t even released on iTunes yet. It was only on Soundcloud and the version that they sent me when they were trying to refer to the song was a Youtube clip which had about 85 views. I was quite surprised and really flattered that that was the one they chose because I didn’t even think it was one of my favourite pieces because it surrounds trauma.
The fact that I wrote that song during a time when I was actually going through some of the worst moments of my life and Michaela (Coel) resonated with the song and then chose it for the scene was pretty powerful and exciting because the song is quite obscure.
Michaela (Coel) is really a champion for a lot of us out here. She wants to see a lot of us win. Many of the talents not only here in Ghana but Nigeria. And so it’s a beautiful synergy and really great timing. That’s how it all came together.
GQ: What lesson did you take from the experience of someone reaching out to you to officially seek your permission to use your song especially because you work in the alternative music space?
RB: It was extremely empowering. For them to seek me out, to ask for my permission and then to be compensated for the use of my work, it was a really big deal because sometimes especially being in the alternative space in Ghana, it can be hard to get the right recognition and sometimes the right financial compensation for your creative capital. With them affirming that, it reminds people in Ghana that there are a lot of amazing alternative talents that we also could be boosting and empowering in the same way.
We should also be able to make a living off our work. And I think that for me it was the fact that they respected the music. They sought it out, and listened. I got a sense that they also listened to my catalog.
They also stated they would reach out if there is the need for more of my work. I love that I have this sort of relationship with a network that is looking out for me. Here I am in Ghana, doing alternative music and one of my songs has made it on an HBO show. I think that’s phenomenal and it is a credit to the amazing talents here.
GQ: What would you say the song added to the scene where Terry and Kwame were having a chat in the bathtub even though it is not your favourite work because of everything associated with it?
RB: In the song I go ‘Be still I know you feel it coming in.’ I am talking about coping with love, loss, and emotions but also trying to say ‘if you are going to be in my life. I hope you will be as authentic as you can possibly be with me.’ In that moment, you are seeing Kwame be bare, and share a part of him that was painful and the song re affirms the idea of ‘in this moment I hope that person that I am being my authentic self with is receiving me with love and respect.’ I think it makes sense that that is what they chose.
GQ: You posted on Instagram you didn’t want to release ‘Bornday’ intro. Will this experience affect your thought process if you have to make a decision about whether you should put out a song or not?
RB: I think the lesson in this is ‘trust yourself.’ I will be more encouraged to release songs even if I might be feeling a particular way. And I say that because prior to this experience, I would have moments where I would release a song, and delete it afterwards. And I would receive a message from a fan and the person asks why I deleted the song, adding that they are willing to pay for the song because it got them through a difficult time.
It’s usually a case of me overthinking, being selfish, and not considering the impact of the song on the people that are connecting to it. In that regard, I think the message is really important so I don’t think I would second guess anymore. If I wrote and recorded the particular song, it means it has a place out here.
GQ: How are you leveraging the opportunity to make more in-roads with your craft and reach a broader audience than you did previously?
RB: I’ve been really interested in putting out a lot of content. And because there are a lot more eyes on me, it means I have to put in more work. In a way, it challenges me to strengthen my work ethic, and showcase my capabilities. I think I am now more intentional about consistently putting out new and engaging content for my fans. There are a lot more people who are listening, and taking part in my art practice with me.
The airing of the episode that featured my song has introduced a lot of people who, not only connected with ‘BornDay Intro’ but the rest of my catalog.
I have a lot of cool visual stuff on the way, working on a couple of short film pieces as well as live performances pieces. For me, it’s just getting myself out there even more.
GQ: Any parting words?
RB: I want to thank Michaela Coel for the opportunity. And also for everyone who is a Ria Boss fan. I am working on a lot of really cool stuff. My album is also being worked on. And of course, I have a couple of really cool virtual live performances. It’s going to be awesome.
Originally published by GQ South Africa on November 19, 2020
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