Album of the Year #?: Boldy James & Sterling Toles - Manger On McNichols

Artist: Boldy James, Sterling Toles

Album: Manger on McNichols

Date Released: July 24, 2020

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Artist Background

Boldy James, born James Clay Jones III, is a product of his hometown of Detroit, MI, through and through. James has been releasing music for years, with a number of appearances on mixtapes and tracks with other artists dating back to 2009, before releasing his debut mixtape, Trappers Alley Pros and Cons, in 2011, followed by his debut album My 1st Chemistry Set, entirely produced by The Alchemist, in 2013. The record touted features from Action Bronson, Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples, and more. Yet, the acknowledgement that Boldy’s rise in the public eye came about in 2020 seems inescapable, and for good reason; Boldly’s output and growth in 2020 was close to unrivaled. His full-length collaboration with The Alchemist, The Price of Tea In China, turned heads earlier this year and highlighted James’ abilities as a wordsmith. Boldy also linked up with Griselda this year, and released The Versace Tape, a short, if less notable, project produced by Jay Versace. Finally, Boldy’s (underrated) collaboration with producer Real Bad Man, Real Bad Boldy, released at the end of the year, with a short but sweet collection of gritty tracks that don’t overstay their welcome.

However, the real highlight of Boldy’s year was, of course, his work with Sterling Toles. To be clear, to attribute this record to this year alone is perhaps disingenuous; the two’s collaborative project was well over the decade in the making, with some of Boldy’s vocals dating back to 2007. Toles, another Detroit native, is a musician, visual artist, and producer, blends avant-garde, jazz, experimentation, and a number of other influences on Manger on McNichols to create a soundscape that is both chaotic, gorgeous, and stirring. The pair’s work finally graced the ears of the public this year, and the result is one of the most affecting and personal albums in years.

The Middle of Next Month

The most immediately arresting aspect of this record is almost certainly the aforementioned soundscape. Each track sounds meticulously crafted, chaotic but pieced together in the most precise of manners. Tracks like "The Middle of Next Month" feature an explosion of noise, from warped vocals and samples to what sounds like disconcerting strings hiding in the mix. To listen to any individual track can become an exercise in instrument recognition; a trumpet there, synthesizers and piano, and percussion that acts as less of a foundation and more of a puzzle piece. Songs like highlight "Mommy Dearest (A Eulogy)" border on the avant-garde, sounding almost structure-less, yet feeling coherent and precise; a droning violin complimented by a gorgeous flowing flute fluttering throughout the mix, dodging from left to right, choir-like backing vocals and balladry in a foreign language. The weight of these elements is enough to crush any single track, and a lesser MC would perhaps struggle to sound even close to in their element. But the strength of Boldy’s voice peers straight through any amount of noise, and each track sounds like it was constructed around each verse, as it likely was. If anything can sound like the culmination of ten to thirteen years of perfection, it’s this. Sterling Toles’ work on this record is, not to put it lightly, unlike anything heard on a rap record, ever. The soundscape of the record is both dirty and gorgeous, muddy and boundary-pushing, with Boldy’s voice cutting through the chaos like a knife.

A Eulogy

But perhaps just as impressive as the sound of the record is the content, both personal and strikingly complex. Boldy’s poetic and yet almost domestic storytelling is powerful and matter-of-fact, with his dreary delivery standing proud among the instrumentation and perfectly complementing it. The descriptions of poverty, crime, and interpersonal relationships is powerfully dreadful; often, the naming of family and friends in an almost list-like fashion very clearly remind you that these are lived experiences. A number of recurring themes permeate the record, with one of the most potent being that of childhood, and by extension, parenting and Boldy’s own children. Even the title, with the use of the word “manger” brings to mind the visuals of a nativity scene, highlighting the birth of Jesus in a manger or stable, further emblematic of the record’s focus on birth, childhood, and religion. Descriptions of parentless youth, such as on "Requiem", paint a vivid and perhaps all too common picture:

My youngin' lost his mother and father, was less fortunate

Put up for adoption, no foster parents at the orphanage

The social worker, she could give a fuck, she got her own problems

Brodie wanted for a open murder, that's his role model

Growin' up all he seen was a Seagram's Crown Royal bottle

Pourin' up his troubles, gettin' weeded while he load hollow tips

And that extendo roll was runnin' through them bundles

One time, the bag came up short, he had to shoot his uncle

Perhaps the most affecting moment on the record comes in the form of the "Mommy Dearest (A Eulogy)", which features Boldy interpolating Notorious B.I.G’s "Suicidal Thoughts" ('Cause she don't even love me like she did when I was younger/ Suckin' on her breast just to stop my fuckin' hunger). The track seems to highlight both Boldy’s childhood trauma and relationship with his mother (and by extension a younger sibling and father) and perhaps even his own thoughts on parenthood as well as his own past and life trajectory, talking about a history of crime and selling drugs, culminating in the piercing line: I know my mama wish she got a fuckin’ abortion. The poetry and searing emotional weight of this track is not only multi-layered and dense, but is of course accompanied by not only the gorgeous instrumentation but a sample of an interview discussing the song in question. Falling right in the middle of the album, "Mommy Dearest" acts almost as an emotional climax, and is what Sterling Toles has cited as the centerpiece of the project, highlighting Boldy’s relationship with his mother, some of the darkest thoughts James has to offer on the record and some of the most introspective.

Askin' our mommy, "Where Daddy went?"

To our daddy, "Where Mommy at?"

Him tellin' me she ain't comin' back

Me lookin' at my four-year-old sister

Tears runnin' down her poor little dimples, damn

Memories when it was hard for your little mans

Can it be that it was all so simple then?

Tellin' me that you was on your way to come see me

And left me sittin' on the porch in the rain, freezing

Had me feelin' like an orphan, the pain stingin'

And gettin' stung by a hornet ain't the same, neither

It run further and way deeper than a heartbreakin' mind-bogglin' brain freezer

Tellin' James that what I'm never sellin' dope

And when he said "never", that's when he let me know

To never say "never", because you never know

And if you love someone, let 'em know

Guess it wasn’t meant

While growing up in Detroit, James had a friend in his neighborhood who went by the name Boldy, who “didn’t rap, he just sold cocaine.” James “Boldy” Osley was later murdered, and, since they shared the name, James, Jones decided to carry on the name in his rap career. The DNA of Detroit and its influence on both Boldy himself and his sound is evident throughout the record, with a number of samples throughout the record starting and ending tracks with messages about Detroit, a number of which sound like they come from old television or radio samples. That spirit and heritage feels laced throughout the record. Boldy’s style and wordplay is not only impressive across the record, but feels unique to him and his experiences. The storytelling and descriptions on the album feel almost intrusive, like a man has opened his soul entirely, describing his insecurities, trauma, and confessing his sins over the sound of raw emotion, unfiltered. The closing moments of this record on "Got Flicked (The Rebirth)" feel like an encapsulation of paranoia and dwelling on the past, coming to terms with life as it has been given and lost in thought about what it means.

My baby mama and my son didn't show up

When I realized I ain't tell 'em I was leaving when the bailiff threw me in the cuffs, fuck

Then he whispered in my ear, "This, too, shall pass"

Now I'm shackled by my frame to the floor of a bus with some strangers

Cliqued up with some demons, got into it with some lifers

Learned to communicate with angels

It’s not often an album of this level arrives. A project so long in the making, so intently focused, and so painfully personal that it feels intrusive. The depth of the project’s sounds and poetry is impossible to digest upon dozens of listens, nevermind the first. The story behind the record is almost as fascinating as its content, and despite the love it has gotten from certain circles and online forums, it still feels like a record that should have made far larger a splash than it has. That being said, the staying power of this record will likely prove itself in the years to come, especially as Boldy James continues his exponential growth. This is without a doubt one of the most powerful hip-hop records in years, and one that will go down as a landmark achievement, blending new and old with startling ease, and emblematic of the sort of personal expression and raw introspection most key to the human experience.

Highlights

I just lost my two twins in an accident

Would've been my firstborn kids, guess it wasn't meant

It's been a series of unfortunate events

And I'm gettin' real leery of whom I call my friends

- “The Middle of Next Month”

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child

Get out of line, and I'm gunnin' you down, so stay in single file

'Fore you in the line of fire, tryna renege

Like you threw a nine of diamonds out when I led with spades

And you sittin' trump tight

We got hand grenades, I pull this pin, it's goodnight

Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite

Keep a razor blade or jagged-edge butcher knife

-”Mommy Dearest (A Eulogy)”

Therapeutic to the user, the heroin abusers

Know I'm a ConCreature like I'm starin' at Medusa

-”Medusa”

Got the drug-free school zone high

God, tell the devil Boldy want a spot if I gotta suffer

Got some 1-2, 3-4, 5-slot, heavy metal pokin' out my side for you motherfuckin' sissies

Your boy an assassin, my city ain't no tourist attraction, this Detroit where shit happens

Cats get shot in their jibs

Extorted, kidnapped, or robbed for their yen

My ConCreature fam been known for causin' casualties

Don't eff with them boys off of McNichols

But come back to Detroit, sorry we missed you

With this northern hospitality

You welcome to 76

-”Welcome to 76”

It's six million ways to die to choose from

Hardest thing to do is stay alive, go to school son

I know niggas who died when they was too young

To even realize, don't even think twice, just shoot guns

And let the trigger decide, took a few slugs

Blink twice, bleedin' from his eyes, cried blue blood

When they crimsoned his tide in new ones

Left him laid out flat in some already-been-chewed gum

-”Why Are You In Her(e)?”

It's real life shit, this ain't Hansel & Gretel

In my kitchen, Pyrex right next to the kettle

Open the cabinet, farina right next to the pet milk

With my strap on, the sink full of dishes and residue

Phone tapped, I think, and my minutes is hella low

Who in the hell'd think that that kid'd be sellin' dope?

From petty thief, misdemeanors to federal

Seventeen in the clink for some weed in my leather coat

-”Got Flicked (The Rebirth)”

Discussion Questions

-Where does this stand in Boldy’s discography? Were you familiar with Boldy and his work prior to his releases this year? If so, how has that affected your perception of this record?

-The jazz-driven soundscape of this record has been compared to records such as To Pimp A Butterfly. While the subject matter is entirely different, how does the sound of these records compare? Considering how unique this project is, is this a fair comparison?

-Lyrical highlights that I missed?

Lastly: here is a fascinating documentary/series of interviews with Boldy and Sterling Toles that I highly recommend for anyone interested