Boldy James & The Alchemist - The Price of Tea in China (Discussion Thread)

[Sankofa Alwayz]

It’s better on every listen. I slept on it too. Wanted to like it more than I did. Gave it another shot and it suddenly landed. I honestly think it’s one of the top 5 most slept in underground albums of the past few years. Effortless dark raps with crazy imagery and painted pictures. A different style of production from Alc. Lots of empty spaces but still hard drums, creepy samples, and menacing bass lines. Great features. Good mix of storytelling, introspective, threatening, bragging, and concept joints.

I think it’s a darker and murkier, modern day Reasonable Doubt through the eyes of Detroit.

shyt literally screams Detroit, great work Alc

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Surf & Turf on high volume in the whip on quarantine-era streets at night

Played the album last night on the highway. It started raining. Was real trippy.

shyt literally screams Detroit, great work Alc

To me as an album, this is better than Alfredo or Lulu. Boldy may not be as as dope an emcee as Conway, and I don't think anyone would argue that he's better than Gibbs. But on both of those other projects, the emcee picked the beats. On Tea in China, Boldy said he was gonna trust the producer to architect the entire thing. To me it just sounds a little more like an album and less like a mixtape than Alfedo or Lulu. All 3 are very cohesive, but this one is still the strongest to me.

I really hope it's a release that'll get more and more shine with time.

 

[T.H.E. Goat]

“Just another has-been with a glass chin, these nikkas Don Flamenco”

 

[Danie84]

Two Twin glocks with 30 call em Tia & Tamera

...when Belvedere soundscape come thru, tho

Here's looking at you kid

 

[Zero]

“Just another has-been with a glass chin, these nikkas Don Flamenco”

IMO, this was the weakest bonus but it was still dope

Boldy and Alchemist really did it with this one. Bumping Slow Roll right now

 

[TheDarceKnight]

New Boldy album produced by Sterling Toles dropping July 27. Single is called Requiem and sounds cool

 

[Alvin]

@TheDarceKnight @savoutch

The Deluxe edition tracks

 

[areohbee824]

That new Boldy James & Sterling Toles is out on bandcamp

 

[kdslittlebro]

I think I'm done trying to cop vinyls. I'm glad Freddie Gibbs does pre-orders. This boutique shyt is out of control. I went for the basic black vinyl. I hit buy now and nothing happened. So I went back and hit add to cart, but it had already been 60 seconds so obviously it said sold out.

I been getting Al vinyls since college radio since just before 1st Infantry. These new era Griselda fans done came in and taken over the vinyl copping game with Al. I swear it wasn't this hard a couple years ago. You used to have a good 3-5 minutes. Now it's like 30 seconds. I haven't even tried to get one in over a year, but thought I'd try the new website.

Never again. Maybe when I'm wealthy one day I'll pay eBay prices. But the way it is now is just stressful and not enjoyable.

Same exact fukkin thing happened to me. Was about to trash my office I was so pissed. fukk this new website. Definitely bots on that shyt.

Exact same thing happened to me too. I just wanted one standard copy, had it in my basket, made it even to check out at 9:00 am, went to hit complete, got hit with "sold out". It's definitely bots, someone on ebay got all 3 variations selling for a stupid price

I feel better for literally sleeping on the release time

 

[LevelUp]

Just so yall know. Whoever wants to make a thread on this go ahead. I'm rarely on here nowadays.

 

[Alvin]

I still think they should've ended the album on grey October, nice sleepy outro track.

 

[Alvin]

*edit never mind phone bill fits that outro fine

 

[Danie84]

Judge Hit Him with Everything but the Kitchen Sink

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Judge Hit Him with Everything but the Kitchen Sink

Fire song. Glad it's on the deluxe.

I still think they should've ended the album on grey October, nice sleepy outro track.

*edit never mind phone bill fits that outro fine

I think Phone Booth is a perfect outro too. I kinda like Grey October where it is. Besides the intro/Carruth, everything besides Pinto is hard as nails, and then I think Grey October comes in nicely to slow things down a bit after a pretty intense section of joints. It does a good ob of leading into the final 3rd of the album IMO.

Plus, I never like it when a guest verse is the final verse on an album (like Mac Miller closing out the Pinata album). Ev is one of my favorite rappers and I love his verse, but it's be weird to me for him to close Boldy's album. And even though I like all 4 of the bonus tracks, Belvedere and Bernadines are the main ones that seem like they would've fit in the sequence. So to me the album really does end at Phone Bill.

Okay I'm done being an armchair A&R

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Just so yall know. Whoever wants to make a thread on this go ahead. I'm rarely on here nowadays.

What'd you think of this? I liked it but I was telling @areohbee82 that live instrument hip-hop albums are real hit or miss for me. I think Boldy sounds best when he has a lot of space to rap in, and a lot of the beats on here start to border on clashing with his voice. But it's a real interesting sounding album.