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“…he’s a rapper for whom content is style, whose subtle poetic gifts are dependent on the seeming veracity of the concrete heart of the stories he tells.” – Pitchfork
Boldy James, the blue-collar Detroit rapper who made noise with his Consignment, Favor For A Favor: The Redi-Rock Mixtape and high-profile collaborations with The Alchemist and The Cool Kids, released his Grand Quarters EP on Decon.
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The EP, a lead-in to an Alchemist-produced LP, is titled after a once bustling and illustrious Detroit night spot that fell into disrepair, a beacon of blight who’s reference is employed as a reminder of neglected majesty and and the work ethic it takes to overcome at any cost.
Perched above a crumbling city and documenting the ongoings, James personifies that ambition.
Boldy’s is a uniquely paired-down style, relatively barren beats propped up by stanzas that fill it’s vacancies, devoid of shiny alloys.
He’s a deft storyteller, spitting deceptively bare-bones bars with a distinct midwestern lean over icy instrumental avenues produced by his cousin, Chuck Inglish (formerly of the The Cool Kids), Chicago duo Blended Babies, and Huntsville heat-makers Block Beattaz.
Neighbors Peechie Green, Poppy Bricks, and Kevo Da Kid make their presence known- Boldy is in good company in a town that many fled and Grand Quarters is evidence that Detroit’s not going anywhere. Boldy James is making his return in 2017 with The Art of Rock Climbing.
[/wpex]Press Releases
Boldy James Rocks Sunglasses At Night, Pays Tribute to Notorious Motown Drug Lord “Maserati Rick”
Blue-Collar Rapper Boldy James Puts On For Detroit in House of Blues Mixtape
Boldy James Drops “Maserati Rick,” a Triumphant Ode to a Notorious Detroit Drug Lord
Boldy James Flows Like a Butterfly, Stings Like A Bee in “Do It” Visual
Nas’ Protege, Boldy James, Announces House of Blues Mixtape for 2/27; Drops Trap-Inflected “Do It”
Nas-cosigned Detroit Emcee Boldy James Breaks Two-Year Silence with The Art of Rock Climbing EP