Boldy James - Slow Roll

"Hothead with a heated temper."

Album: The Price of Tea in China [2nd album]
Genre: Hip Hop, Gangster Rap, Midwest Hip Hop
Release: February 7th 2020
Length: 4:10
Producer: The Alchemist
Vocalist: Boldy James [age 37]
Label: ALC Records

Official Audio


Official Video

Charts, Streams & Sales

Spotify = 2,700,000 +
YouTube Music = 700,000 +
Complex's Best Albums of 2020: #24
Stereogum's Best Albums of 2020: #35

Credits

Details

• Boldy James released two critically acclaimed albums in 2020. The first, 'The Price of Tea in China', came out in February while 'Manger on McNichols' dropped four months later. Before 2020, the then 38 year old Boldy James had only released one album, despite rapping seriously since 2009, and in the next five years he would release 15, working at an average of three albums per year. His full length collaboration with Alchemist changed his life, thanks in no small part to the working relationship between the two, which became infamous for descending into fist fights.
  
  Late-career Alchemist has made a habit of producing entire albums for lesser known rappers that would become hip hop album of the year contenders. He made 'Haram' with Armand Hammer in 2021. In 2022, he produced 'The Elephant Man's Bones' with Roc Marciano and in 2023, 'The Great Escape' with Larry June.
  
  I would easily rate those releases in the top 10 rap albums of their respective years which shows a remarkable consistency on Alchemist's part and I'm not even mentioning a plethora of similar rapper-producer collabs like the Grammy nominated album he made with Freddie Gibbs.
  
  A lot of producers are great when they start out but become stale as the years pass and the fashions change. Alchemist got better as time went on, evolving his own signature style and spawning an entire sub-genre of hip hop production called Alchemist Type Beats. Alchemist is aware of the phenomenon and even has Alchemist Type Beat as his Twitter handle.
  
  So, as the results indicate, if you want to produce a great hip hop album you should punch your rapper in the head. Joking aside, I think it speaks to the passion both Boldy and Alc had for the project, that they weren't willing to let things go. They pushed each other to make the best album possible and you can hear it in the final product. They were inspired by the full length Madlib and Freddie Gibbs collaborations which featured the juxtaposition of street rapping over super slick production.
  
  In the 2020's, it's become common place for producers like Giallo Point to create entire albums for rappers, when before featuring a range of producers was the norm. It elevated the relationship between producer and rapper to a new height. Guys like DJ Premier would make full albums for Guru and the like, or Pete Rock for C.L. Smooth, but these new projects were one-offs, so it felt special. You couldn't predict a lot of the collabs happening before they did but when the albums dropped they felt inevitable. It gave the 2020's a sense of unpredictability that kept things interesting.
  
  The production style on later Alchemist records is closer to a soundscape than it is traditional hip hop, they are sparse but lush, gorgeous to listen to, often drumless, rain soaked, nocturnal, dreamy and without obvious samples. Boldy James has a slow flow that sounds like he's half asleep. He's a relaxed veteran, drawing from a wealth of experience to spit his bars like they're a matter of fact. Some people find Boldy's flow boring because he isn't shouting or getting energetic, but the key to appreciating his sound is to play close attention to it, preferably relaxing at night. It isn't background music. The listener has to  go towards the album but, if they do, they're rewarded.
  
  
• A selection of beats made by Alchemist.
  
  
• Curren$y & Freddie Gibbs - Fetti
  
• Dilated Peoples - Back Again
  
• Dilated Peoples - Worst Comes to Worst
• Evidence - Chase the Clouds Away
• Havoc - Hear Me Now
  
• Jadakiss - Feel Me
• Jay Electronica - The Neverending Story
  
• Kendrick Lamar - FEAR
  
• Pharoahe Monch - No Mercy
• Prodigy - Give em Hell
  
• Prodigy - Veteran's Memorial
  
• Roc Marciano - Flash Gordon
• Royce da 59 - I'm the King
  
  
• As of 2024, Boldy James and Alchemist have made four albums together, as well as an EP.
• Alchemist is from Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. The area has an average house price of $3.4m [2024].
• Alchemist is the prodigy of the Cypress Hill beatmaker DJ Muggs.
  
  
• Without Sterling Toles offering words of encouragement Boldy James might have quit rapping. They first met in 2000 when Boldy was 17 and unsure about a career in music. Ultimately, acting on advice from Toles, Boldy decided to keep at it even if it was just to express himself as a form of therapy.
  

Artwork