James Clay Jones III better known as Boldy James hides in plain sight. After overcoming the turmoil of inner city Detroit, this artist pours his pain onto wax. The ink from his pen represents the grim scenarios he encountered throughout his lifespan.
“A long time ago someone thought of designing Detroit after Paris. Detroit once was called the city beautiful. It is now called the murder capital of the United States.”
Reigning from a rust belt city (Detroit) made this man numb to all that comes along with street life. Where Boldy really started to turn a corner is the moment he decided to leave the streets alone and put his stories into harrowing detail for others to hear.
Rust Belters Stick Together
Another Rust Belt City guy – Westside Gunn (Buffalo) took notice and gave Boldy quite the boost. Ever since Boldy’s botched Mass Appeal deal in 2011, he had been solely underground.
Westside Gunn came on board to help Boldy with promotion by way of creating spectacle around glossy mixtape releases. He dropped four mixtapes in 2020 to accelerate his ouput and prove he can run with the best of them while continuing to distribute quality product. Boldy now coexists on the Griselda Records roster.
Appreciating the Alchemist
Another key character in the Boldy James cog is The Alchemist. People always talk Dr. Dre, Pharrell and Timbaland while mentioning G.O.A.T producers (rightfully so) but they always forget to mention The Alchemist (& DJ Muggs for that matter)
The Alchemist exists much like a freely swirling metronome. His range knows no boundaries and the simplicity of his work proves that less is more. His work with Freddie Gibbs to create the project, “Alfredo” messed around and got a Grammy nom for Best Rap Album.
“When it’s one producer working with one artist – it’s kind of like a cheat code.”
Alchemist on NPR
Indeed, the collaborative zone that Boldy James & The Alchemist have entered represents chemistry and brilliance. Reason being, Alc’s quantized rhythms pair beautifully with the rigidity that Boldy puts forth. To this date, Boldy James and The Alchemist have teamed up for four projects altogether.
All in all, if you rock with grimey street lyricism Boldy James is your guy. His bodies of work personify perseverance. This man has a strong penchant for pushing himself to the limit. He does so with unwavering nonchalance, unconcerned inflection and balance. With hypnotic, dense and vivid delivery methods he is definitely an artist you should get hip to.
As far as Fresh News Now is concerned, we give Boldy James a Midwestern stamp & salute! Eyes to the sky!
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