We can’t keep pace. We try, but we fall short. The perpetually tired Detroit underground rap veteran Boldy James remains incredibly prolific, turning out a steady stream of music that’s all worth hearing, yet the nonstop deluge can be hard to follow. Earlier this year, we showcased Manhunt, the collaborative project Boldy produced with New York rapper Rome Streetz. Since then, Boldy has issued three more albums — Hook, Line & Sinker with Your Boy Posca, Trapper’s Alley 3: Hell Or High Water with Nicholas Craven, and 1LB with Your Boy Posca again — and we didn’t feature any of them. Sorry to everyone, and perhaps especially to Your Boy Posca. But we won’t overlook Boldy’s latest record with Real Bad Man.
LA producer and label head Real Bad Man has collaborated with Boldy James on past duo records such as 2020’s Real Bad Boldy, 2022’s Killing Nothing, and last year’s Conversational Pieces. He has also produced projects with artists like Zelooperz and Kool Keith. Today, Boldy James and Real Bad Man reunite on the new album Strobelight. If you’ve heard any of their previous tracks, you know precisely the mix of clean, sample-heavy boom-bap and hard muttering that awaits here. I’m on my first listen right now, and it sounds good. Wiki, El Cousteau, Grip, and Taj contribute guest appearances. Listen below.
