Detroit rapper Boldy James’ spit the above bar on his 2020 breakout album, The Price of Tea in China. Itsums up the ethos of his entire career.
“I grew up on the radio,” Boldy James, born James Clay Jones III, explains over the phone. “The music kept me out of trouble and gave me a different focus. Because you can’t see the music, you gotta feel it.”
Boldy’s music is nothing if not overflowing with feeling: kitchen pots filled with drugs resembling oatmeal; care packages sent to loved ones in prison unsure whether they’d see daylight again; the cool relief of having enough money to pay a phone bill this month. Boldy’s rhymes are plainspoken and lived-in, the kind no one should ever have to find clever ways to rap about.
And yet, Boldy, 37, isn’t afraid to share with me just how much joy creating music brings to him every day. “Releasing your truths can save you,” he says, “and 20 years later, I still use the same method for anger management and just minding my business and staying outta everybody way. It’s my little bit of happiness and sunshine.”
After almost a decade of working in the shadows—from his 2011 debut mixtape Trapper’s Alley: Pros and Cons to now—Boldy’s personal sunshine is yielding massive results. The Price of Tea in China, released this past February and produced entirely by California beat maestro The Alchemist, gained a rabid fanbase after its release in February.
Tea’s quality also caught the attention of Buffalo roughnecks Griselda, who offered Boldy a recording contract in March. Shortly thereafter, he showcased his versatility further, releasing the Sterling Toles-produced album Manger on McNichols, a jazzy experimentation project that was 13 years in the making.
Now, on the verge of releasing The Versace Tape—10 songs worth of steely reflection over beautiful loops produced entirely by New Jersey comedian-turned-beatmaker Jay Versace, out Friday, August 14—Boldy James is reaping the spoils. Three projects and a new record deal have him excited to embrace all the new fans to come.
Our conversation, lightly edited for content and clarity, follows below.
