Latest news with #BoldyJames
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Hyper-prolific rapper Boldy James: ‘I never settled for the cards life dealt me. I've always been the dealer'
In the brief window between my conversation with Detroit rapper Boldy James and you reading this sentence, it is likely that the 42-year-old MC will have surprise-released at least one new album on to streaming platforms. This year alone, he has already released seven records. A planned eighth is due in July, but who knows what might pop up in between. 'My father always told me you've gotta work twice as hard because you can't expect something for nothing in this life!' Boldy says of a work rate that can easily result in 20 new songs being completed in the studio over a 24-hour period. His combative verses, as cutting and direct as Don Corleone whispering instructions to a made man, have earned him critical adoration and elicited high-profile co-signs from hip-hop figureheads including Earl Sweatshirt, Nas, Westside Gunn, the late Mac Miller and producer the Alchemist, while fans are intrigued to know how he remains so prolific. Boldy calls his release strategy 'flooding the market' – tactics he learned from his days caught up selling drugs on Detroit's West Side. 'My homie worked the track – which was a long stretch filled with junkies – from 3am to 6am. He might make $5,000 [£3,700] per night. It might have taken my dad a few months to earn that same cash, so I ended up doing it too. I've never been no sleepyhead. I used to sell drugs all night and then go to my class to take an exam. No problem.' Boldy describes his days selling narcotics on cold street corners with vivid cinematic flair: on the spooky new trap song Aspen, he jokes that his 'Mexican plug' – slang for a prestigious international drugs source – looks a lot like the late civil rights activist Cesar Chavez. Is that true? Boldy laughs: 'Allegedly.' He looks back on this part of his life as a reflection of his resourcefulness. 'I never just settled for the cards life was dealing me,' he says. 'I've always been more like the dealer.' A student of 1990s mafioso rap, a teenage Boldy fed off the confidence of artists such as the Notorious BIG and Erick Sermon. 'I like it when men have firm handshakes and don't whine too much,' he says. He started releasing music independently in the late 2000s, a sound built around warm nostalgia and sleepy depression. Boldy can be famously sedate in interviews, but today he's lively and open. He usually works with a single producer per record, giving his albums an unusual cohesiveness in a collaboration-heavy genre. Produced by Detroit 'sound healer' Sterling Toles, the soul stirring spiritual jazz sermon of Mommy Dearest (A Eulogy), one of Boldy's most experimental songs, reflects on a childhood of serious neglect due to a mother lost to addiction. 'Tellin' me that you was on your way to come see me / And left me sittin' on the porch in the rain, freezing,' he raps amid stuttery saxophone that can't decide if it wants to soar or whimper. But when we talk, Boldy doesn't want to reflect too much on that difficult past. It's all in his music. He says his 2022 song Power Nap is among the finest examples of his lyricism. 'We went from childhood dreams to federal nightmares' … 'Six sleeper bags on the grass it's a slumber party,' he raps, his vocals evoking those of Mobb Deep's Prodigy as he burrows into unorthodox pockets of drumless soul-rap. 'On one level, six sleeping bags makes you reminisce on your childhood and having those sleepovers to play Nintendo with all your friends, right?' he asks. 'But it's also because I could easily roll up the street and see six young Black males on the grass, laid out dead. I represent the hood struggle for real. No gimmicks.' Today, he cares most about showing his six children 'the whole world,' he says. 'I want to make sure I'm always sharing wisdom, because you can get took out at any moment. Right now I'm jumping out half a million dollar cars, wearing $400,000 [£300,000] worth of jewels. It means I've got a lot to lose.' Testament to Boldy's stature is the fact that he's sitting on an unreleased collaborative album with J Dilla rumoured to be called Drug Dilla. Boldy has previously said that the late Detroit beatmaker's estate had given him access to some of the last beats the producer ever crafted – putting him among the small group of MCs (Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, MF Doom, Phat Kat) to get posthumous approval from his camp. Boldy has said the album is finished, but I'm warned in advance not to ask about a release date. Yet he offers a telling answer on why his flow might fit so well over Dilla's unconventional production. 'I rap for real niggas who don't care about club music. That's more my lane. I got like a left-handed type of flow anyways, so not a lot of people can really bounce or groove to my shit. There's a time and a place for my music.' Asked what that is, Boldy concludes: 'It's music made for people trying to process their past and turn it into a net positive. Play it on a road trip while driving to visit family. But I don't expect everybody to relate either … because not everybody grew up around money and murder.' Boldy James and Nicholas Craven's new single, Spider Webbing Windshields, is out now. An as-yet untitled album from the duo will be released in July
Axios
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Boldy James is Detroit's hardest-working rapper
Detroit rapper Boldy James, known for telling cold street tales over atmospheric beats, has released three albums in 2025 already, with two more on the way. Why it matters: Since a near-fatal car accident two years ago in Metro Detroit, Boldy's reputation as a tireless rapper has reached new heights with the quality and pace of his latest music. State of play: Boldy's next two releases — "Alphabet Highway" (out next Friday) and "Conversational Pieces" (May 2) — landed on Pitchfork's new list of spring's 50 most-anticipated albums. "It might take an extraterrestrial attack to stop Boldy James from making albums," writer Matthew Strauss quipped. Catch up quick: When he was 8, Boldy moved in with his father, a police officer, on the city's west side, per Metro Times. "My neighborhood was a drug zone," he said in a 2023 interview. He began pursuing music in the early 2000s with his cousin, rapper/producer Chuck Inglish, who grew up in Mount Clemens. His 2013 album, "My 1st Chemistry Set," caught the attention of hip-hop icon Nas, which led to a deal with Mass Appeal Records. Between the lines: While many rappers employ a stable of producers for a single album, Boldy often works with a single producer — hip-hop legend The Alchemist, most notably — giving each project a unique yet consistent soundscape. Inside the room: He's said his albums can be made in a matter of days during intense studio sessions. In this clip, Boldy can be seen in his socks on a couch, writing on a notepad while The Alchemist fine-tunes the music over which he'll rap. "I don't feel like I can ever oversaturate the market as long as it's a quality product," he said in 2022. "If the music wasn't hot, then we wouldn't even be having this discussion right now." Zoom in: Boldy's gift for storytelling pays extra dividends for local listeners. His music frequently places him on streets like McNichols and the Lodge Freeway. Songs are sprinkled with references to his "crib in Hazel Park" ("Telephono"), wearing Gucci pants at Flood's ("Janky"), and business calls with former NBA player and Benton Harbor native Wilson Chandler ("Unapologetic"). 💭 Joe's thought bubble: Boldy's music reminds me of when I heard Mobb Deep's " Hell on Earth" for the first time in high school. His lyrics are engrossing, with Easter eggs you might not discover until the 10th listen: " Royal Oak on my wrist, screaming 'f— Oakland County'" he raps on "Lop Sided," playing off the shared name of the Detroit suburb and luxury watch. What they're saying: Boldy says that his reality raps are meant to have a scared-straight effect on the listener, rather than glorify life on the streets. During a stop in Germany during 2023's Six Million Dollar Man Tour, he marveled at the unfamiliar ambulance sirens, the kindness from local fans and his motivation to keep representing Detroit. "Keep putting on for all the real ghetto boys worldwide who didn't let being from the ghetto get in the way of them making sure their dreams came true," he said before signing off with his signature two-word catchphrase that captures his relentless nature: "What else?"
