14 MAY 2023/ 7:45PM-8:41PM/ KNELL'S RIDGE SQUARE 2
BOLATTA THA BEAR BY MEL HOWARD When did you start performing?
Where did the name Bolatta Tha Bear come from? Mulatto, which is mixed person, Like in the south my grandfather from Layfette, Louisiana on my mom's side I’m half creole so it was an homage to my grandfather. I actually used to go by Malatta Tha Great which was a self given name. Malatta is Mulatto but replacing all the vowels with a’s and “Tha Great” came from Alexander the Great, one of the most respected conquerors in history. As I child when I jumped off the porch everyone called me Malatta or Latta at the time I was very prideful so it was the Young Latta tha Lion. Overtime time I met a stud named Dolla and she was the first person to start referring to me as Bolatta and referred to us as “Bolatta Lotta Dollas”. Coincidentally during that time, I realized how protective and calm I am. I was no longer connected to the pride of the lion but more so to the bravery of a bear. So boom you got Bolatta Tha Bear ‘cause I’m not just any bear I’m Tha Bear.
So I started writing music when I was about 10 years old and doing poetry and everything. When I was 13, I did my first performance. It was actually a drug-free rally at Cobalt Hall which is a decent size venue and I had butterflies out of this world, There were local radio stations, and other schools there and everything. That performance was the kickoff point. I have some points where I stopped doing music but I keep coming back to it so there’s love there. Out of all the songs that have created what is your favorite song? I have to say it's a song I have on my album, Emerge and it's called "Time". That song is so powerful to me because I actually wrote that song when I was homeless. I was sleeping in my car at the hospital because at the time I felt like that was the safest place for me to sleep in my car. Every day I had to get up and hustle and make it so I could just eat for the day. Every time I listen to that song it reminds me where I've been and how far I've come. Even with my mentality, it's not always financial progress sometimes it's mental progress you know so that's hands down my favorite song.
