Boldy James & RichGains – “Electric Blue” (Feat. Jonathan Chapman)
For years, Boldy James has existed in a relentless flow-state, muttering exquisitely worded crime-life imagery over boom-bap beats at such a relentless clip that no one had any time to select aside all his metaphors. Right now, Boldy is laid up within the hospital, recovering from a automotive accident that briefly landed him within the ICU. (Boldy’s publicist assures me that he’s getting higher: “It will be a slow process and a long road, but he’s getting stronger everyday.”) Last week, just some days after his accident and a month after his final LP, Boldy got here out with Indiana Jones, a complete new album that he recorded with producer RichGains, one half of the Blended Babies, earlier than his accident. The document pushes Boldy’s voice in some sudden instructions.
On “Electric Blue,” Boldy remains to be Boldy, and he’s nonetheless arising with artistic methods to explain his years shifting “that Will Ferrell”: “Eighteen for the pastries/ Whippin’ gingerbread, I’m the baker’s man,” “Turned a half a ki to a masterpiece.” But the sound is totally different. With its bleary psychedelic guitars and with Jonathan Chapman’s faraway indie-rock voice, “Electric Blue” sounds unfastened and floaty. Guitars echo the morse-code synth-bleeps of Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘N’ Nite,” and the itchy drum sample forces Boldy to change up his cadence. It’s a delicate shift for Boldy, and it additionally serves to remind the world that Boldy can discover stunning methods to speak about ugly issues. Here’s hoping he will get effectively quickly. —Tom