Boldy James confirms himself as MC of the year 2020 with his fourth release of the season. After The Alchemist ("The Price of Tea in China"), Sterling Toles ("Manger on McNichols") and Jay Versace ("The Versace Tape"), the artist collaborates with producer Real Bad Man. Guests are Meyhem Lauren, Stove God Cooks, Eto, Mooch & Rigz. The Empire State is there and it makes itself felt, in particular, you can no longer talk about drugs these days without mentioning Rochester, one of the hottest and fittest hip-hop scenes of the moment.
The tape is opened by the title track, light rhythm supported by a bare guitar riff, the rapper flows subdued and calm. Meyhem Lauren is the first guest of the edition and brings out an inspired delivery in "Light Bill", on a rhythm not completely accessible due to samples distorted to the point of annoyance. Subsequent songs have easier beats for the listener, starting with "Thousand Pills": boom bap, decent samples, tough midtempo drum, velvety rap by Boldy James, it closes Stove God Cooks with a great confident and smooth performance, in the year that launched him into the rap game. The fourth choice boasts a great drum and good samples, good velvety slow rap from the MC of Detroit. Eto is the guest of "Little Vicious": excellent production, boom bap with glossy samples and lively drum, slow hardcore delivery of Eto, good rap by James. In the second part of the album, the production manages to maintain a consistently high level.
On track number six, Real Bad Man flips a classic sample, Wendy Rene's "After Laughter (Come Tears)", and creates an extraordinary soundscape: jazzy boom bap with tight midtempo drum, Boldy James delivers spectacularly fit with tight style, quick, clear. "Held Me Down" boasts a melodic soul sample coupled with a vibrant and boisterous drum, the MC maintains a smooth, confident and slick rap, delivering another highlight. "Street Shit" features a mesmerizing production, with male melodic soul sample and uptempo drum, good regular delivery by Boldy James.
Real Bad Man doesn't stop sampling classics and invents another masterpiece in "Good Foot": boom bap, lively tight drum, GZA's "Shadowboxin'" sample, Boldy James' gripping regular calm delivery, then Mooch rips the cut. The guy studied and delivers with a flow among the best of the last months, he (fast and frantic) & Rigz (slow and calm) enter the track as if they were Ghostface & Raekwon. Classic cut, at the end the rhythm breathes like those of RZA in "Only Built". It closes "Champion", boom bap, hard tight drum, fantastic haunting samples, regular delivery, slow calm clear by Boldy, who makes yet another dope track of his season.
Composed of 10 tracks and about half an hour of listening, the album is thematically focused on drug / thug / street rap: Boldy James maintains a good lyricism, details his lyrics and interprets them with coldness and lucidity, almost detachment, aided by a production that rises in the second part and shows all the talent of producer Real Bad Man, which looks good compared to the previous collaborators of the Detroit rapper. Excellent record, certainly among the best of the year, recommended for gangsta fans.
Highlights: "Thousand Pills", "Little Vicious", "On Ten", "Held Me Down", "Good Foot", "Champion".
Rating: 7.8/10.
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