Well this listening experience turned out quite different from the other Boldy James album I listened to this year. On this album, Boldy is the epitome of the concept that from adversity and pain can blossom art. I gotta say, this is some fucking art. Most of these verses were recorded over a decade ago while Boldy would spend his days either in the studio or on the streets dealing. It's interesting to read how producer, or moreso composer, Sterling Toles picked up musicians to orchestrate this ... read more
After hearing The Price of Tea In China, I was hoping this project would have some great production and more charisma from Boldy James. Well, we definitely got interesting production, but unfortunately this album kinda feels like a mess, even if it’s impressive.
While the production is very impressive, I don’t think it works a lot of the time, as it just seems disconnected from Boldy’s rapping. Boldy’s slow flow and monotonous delivery is also just a little too boring ... read more
this is what people thought to pimp a butterfly was. this album is amazing. i've been waiting to review this because i really can't put into words how great this is. if it has any faults, it's that some of the shorter tracks should be longer because they're so good. before you listen, you really should read sterling toles' note in the credits about how this album came about. i'll paste it here, but essentially boldy james recorded vocals for all but two songs from 2007-10 over bare-bones ... read more
Thought this was a good album when I heard it originally without it blowing me away. Just listened to it for the first time in 2 years and wow, unreal. Boldy puts his entire soul into his performances and Sterling Toles more than compliments that energy with the lush instrumentation here. Early AOTD contender for me, really do think this will be regarded as a classic over the next couple of years.
#6 | / | Stereogum |
#7 | / | Passion of the Weiss |
#18 | / | BrooklynVegan |
#43 | / | Beats Per Minute |
#44 | / | Norman Records |
#47 | / | The Needle Drop |
#48 | / | Treble |
/ | AllMusic |