Boldy James – The Concordian

The local producer hosted a pop-up event on January 13 for his 2022 joint project with Boldy James.

Montreal-based producer Nicholas Craven has been building an empire in the underground hip-hop realm for years now, both in and outside of Canada. His work with Griselda signee Boldy James, a Detroit rapper, led him to one of his biggest breaks yet.

After initially linking up during a tour stop in Montreal, Craven later made several trips to Detroit to record a collaborative mixtape with Boldy James. Released in 2022, Fair Exchange No Robbery became a staple for underground hip-hop fans thanks to its combination of blissful soul sample loops with Boldy James’ clever lyrics and icy, deadpan delivery.

To commemorate the album’s success, Craven threw a pop-up event on Jan. 13. It was held at Léviter Mtl, a local streetwear shop on St-Denis St. The official merchandise hoodies for the project were being sold in-person for the first time, and the event doubled as an autograph signing. Dozens of fans dropped by throughout the night to meet Craven, buy merchandise, and have him sign their hoodies and vinyl records.

Additionally, it has gained prominent cultural significance in Craven’s hometown: the mixtape’s cover is a flip of the iconic design on Quebec’s maple syrup cans. He spoke highly about the artwork: “I’m so proud of that cover. There’s so much nostalgia within that design, and I found something that could be enjoyed by so many people. To be the first to rock it on a cover that way is hype.” Stack Moolah, the artist who created the cover, elaborated on how it has given a new life to an existing design: “For fans outside of Montreal, they may easily associate it with a hip-hop album rather than a can of syrup.”

Craven was visibly enthused by one fan who brought a can of syrup for him to autograph. Both artists credit Boldy James as the inspiration behind the cover, thanks to a lyric on “Power Nap” where he raps, “Dozed off in a coupe off a four of maple.” A drug called “lean” is commonly referred to as syrup, and can be seen on the artwork flowing into the sap buckets.

There were also DJ sets throughout the event from Craven, Stack Moolah and RobyStudios (Roberto Viglione). Stack Moolah, the man behind the cover art, mixed classic and underground hip-hop. Craven followed suit, also playing his new collaborative mixtape with Boldy titled Penalty of Leadership in full (which was released a day prior, on Jan. 12). He simultaneously debuted a slew of unreleased Boldy James tracks, leftovers made during the sessions for that project. Roby, the producer-engineer who mixed and mastered Fair Exchange No Robbery, brought on some infectious, danceable energy by mixing amapiano music, a go-to genre for his recent DJ sets.

The night served as an accessible rendezvous point for fans of the project and aficionados of underground hip-hop in general. Local rappers Rowjay and Mike Shabb even stopped by later in the evening, giving fans the chance to meet and speak with them. Craven was in good spirits: “The turnout was amazing—way more people than I thought and so many hoodies got sold. Everything was perfect, way above my expectations.”

Reflecting on the album’s legacy, the producer stated: “It’s ill that one of my favourite designs from my culture is now associated with me through hip-hop. It’s the best thing that could have happened.”

Fair Exchange No Robbery and Penalty of Leadership are available on all streaming platforms.

MTELUS was packed for a hip hop rendez-vous

Rap fans of all ages gathered at MTELUS in Montreal last Wednesday, as a duo of lo-fi hip hop mastodons Action Bronson and Earl Sweatshirt were headlining their NBA Leather tour accompanied by Boldy James & The Alchemist as their opening act. Fans were waiting patiently for both Bronson and Earl to come out and perform.

The show started off with Californian producer, The Alchemist, coming on stage and warming up the crowd, playing some of his more popular beats. Detroit rapper and Boldy James joined The Alchemist to perform their opening set. James’ set was definitely entertaining, with him playing most of his classic songs, and at least half of his 2021 amazing collaboration album with The Alchemist Bo Jackson, but his performance didn’t do justice to the quality of his music.

James’ music is more based on him spitting bars over a smoothly sampled instrumental. This style of rap is harder to decipher at a concert, resulting in the performance lacking a bit of energy, making it harder for people to connect with the music. Nonetheless, he still delivered a satisfactory performance and set the table well for the other artists yet to come.

The next artist to perform was Earl Sweatshirt, who delivered a solid performance, rapping most of his latest album SICK!, and some key songs off of his other records. The crowd lacked energy at the beginning of his set, but once he played his meme song “EAST,” they picked it up and started moshing. Earl was the chillest and most laidback guy ever. He had no difficulty showcasing his funny, nonchalant and sarcastic side we all came to know and love from his days as a part of Odd Future. Earl’s set was able to make people feel a plethora of different emotions.

The last but not the least artist performing was New York MC Action Bronson, who delivered a super loud and “in your face” set. Contrarily to Boldy James, his music sounded even better live. He was super theatrical with his rapping and the fans were really engaged in his set. It was definitely surprising to not see him rap much of his new album Cocodrillo Turbo as he only performed a song or two off of it, regardless, it was still great to see him live.

Whether it was Boldy James’ gritty sound, Earl Sweatshirt’s more laidback and posed attitude, or Action Bronson’s aggressive and energetic performance, everyone brought something different to the table that saw fans feasting through it all.