James Clay Jones III (born August 9, 1982), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Boldy James, is an American rapper from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. A member of the Griselda collective, his debut album, ''

My 1st Chemistry Set ''(M.1.C.S.) My 1st Chemistry Set'' is the debut studio album by Detroit rapper Boldy James and producer The Alchemist, released on October 15, 2013 through Decon. It was preceded by Boldy James' EP, ''Grand Quarters'' (2013). ''M.1.C.S.'' was ...

'', was released on October 15, 2013.

Early life

Boldy James was born James Clay Jones III on August 9, 1982, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

to James Clay Jones Jr. and Toni K. Broadus. In 1983, Jones and Broadus returned to their original home of Detroit, Michigan with their son after Jones was wounded in the line of duty serving as a police officer. They resided on the Eastside of Detroit with James' grandmother. In 1989, James' parents separated and his mother sent him and his younger sister to live with their father on Detroit's westside on Stahelin Hell Block near McNichols Road and the Southfield Freeway. James' love for music came to the forefront at the age of 12, when he performed in a middle school talent show and began writing his first raps shortly after. He attended high school at Detroit Cooley, and dropped out after the ninth grade. He got the name Boldy James from his friend from his block, James Osely III, who people in the neighborhood called Boldy. Boldy said "he didn't rap, he just sold cocaine. I liked the name because his name was James too". When his friend was murdered, he decided to carry on with the name, using it to rap.

Career

In 2009, Boldy James's first big break on the national scene came in the form of two features on

The Cool Kids The Cool Kids are an American hip hop duo composed of rappers Sir Michael Rocks and Chuck Inglish. The Cool Kids' music had been released primarily to the independent Chocolate Industries via their own label C.A.K.E. Recordings. Reed and Inger ...

and

Don Cannon Donald Cannon (born August 2, 1979) is an American DJ, record producer, songwriter, and record executive. Cannon is a co-founder of the Atlantic Records imprint, Generation Now. He was also a member of the prominent Atlanta mixtape collective, ...

's mixtape ''Merry Christmas'', on the songs "BBQ Wings" and "Tires". That was followed up by his record "Gettin Flicked" appearing on The Cool Kids's 2010 mixtape ''Tacklebox''. Also in 2010, he was featured on the

Chip tha Ripper Charles Jawanzaa Worth (born October 20, 1986), known by his stage names King Chip and Chip tha Ripper, is an American rapper from Cleveland, Ohio. He is notable for amassing several self-released mixtapes, as well as for his work with longtime a ...

song "Fat Raps" remix alongside

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

Asher Roth Asher Paul Roth (born August 11, 1985) is an American rapper. He is best known for his debut single " I Love College". Roth released his debut studio album ''Asleep in the Bread Aisle'', on April 20, 2009, by Universal Motown, SRC, and School B ...

Dom Kennedy Dominic Ross Hunn (born August 22, 1984), better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper from Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. Since 2008, Kennedy has released 5 independent mixtapes, most notably his 2010 critically accl ...

and

Chuck Inglish Evan Ingersoll (born October 7, 1984), better known by his stage name Chuck Inglish, is an American rapper, producer and songwriter most known for being part of the hip hop duo The Cool Kids with Sir Michael Rocks. His debut album ''Convertibles ...

. Boldy James and Cool Kid member/producer Chuck Inglish are cousins. On May 24, 2011, Boldy James released his solo debut mixtape ''Trappers Alley Pros and Cons''. The project went on to be named by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' as one of 2011's Most Overlooked Projects. On February 27, 2012, he released his follow up mixtape, ''Consignment''. On March 5, 2013, he released an EP titled ''Grand Quarters''. On October 15, 2013, he released his debut album, ''

'', entirely produced by

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...

. On May 22, 2014, it was announced that Boldy James, Bishop Nehru, and

Fashawn Santiago Leyva (born October 19, 1988), known by his stage name Fashawn, is an American hip hop recording artist from Fresno, California. He first gained major attention after releasing his debut album '' Boy Meets World'' in 2009, which was pr ...

were the first signees to

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

Mass Appeal Records Mass Appeal Records is an American independent record label founded in 2014. The label is the music division of the Mass Appeal Media Group. In May 2014, it was announced that American rapper Nas was launching an indie label with Mass Appeal ...

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Mixtapes

Singles

As featured artist

Guest appearances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Boldy 1982 births African-American male rappers American male rappers Living people Midwest hip hop musicians Rappers from Atlanta Rappers from Detroit 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people