Detroit rapper Boldy James has established himself on the underground scene firmly. He has multiple projects produced by The Alchemist and lately often collaborated with Griselda members, being signed to the label.
So when this winter Boldy got into a horrible car accident and was fighting for his life, many his friends tried to support him. One of the artist who publicly expressed a concern for Boldy’s health and wished him a speedy recovery was Eminem. He tweeted:
Sending out best wishes for a quick recovery for The D’s own @boldyjames !!! 🫡🙏🏼
A couple of weeks later, having left an ICU, Boldy James responded to Eminem with a short “Thank You”. Now, a journalist who caught with Boldy on a winde Detroit street, had a chance to talk about this interaction more and to ask how was that for the rapper to receive a rather unexpected shout out from Marshall Boldy was honest in his answer:
It was under some weird circumstances because I was in the hospital in critical condition. So when I got the tweet it meant the world. You know, ‘cause I do music and I look up to Em and what he did for the city and just hip hop in general. But I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I do reflecting on it now.
Of course, Boldy had a lot of help from his family in this difficult circumstance. His friends in the industry, such as The Alchemist and Westside Gunn were near as well, but Marshall’s public support was something special:
The Eminem shout out wishing me a speedy recovery, it definitely meant a lot. Because a lot of people that was close to me didn’t even wish me well in my situation. So that meant the world to me.
Has Boldy’s relationship with Eminem changed after that? Has he spoken to Eminem since then?
No, but I’m sure my brother have. You know, Alan [The Alchemist], that’s his bro. I’m just tied in through Paul. I’m a proud Detroiter. I’ve been doing hip hop for a minute, so I’m definitely familiar with Eminem. It just feel good to know that he actually is familiar with me as well. That’s what I do it for. I met Jay-Z, I met Nas, Eminem wishing me speedy recoveries, what more can I say?!
And an obligatory question about the possibility of collaboration with Eminem:
I would love to work with Eminem. I’m never against working with greatest of all times. In my world, me being from the hood, Jay-Z is my favorite rapper. But me being from Detroit, Eminem is one of the best to ever do it. Nobody ever put on for the state of Michigan and up north Detroit like Em. Nobody reached the peak that Em touched. Em the one! I would love to work with Em. That’s a no-brainer. It’s about if Eminem wants to work with you or not and if it’s conducive to what he’s got going on. Because one wrong move in this game, and a lot of stuff’s diminishing, started declining. So, maybe if he admires the type of works you are putting out… I’m a wordsmith just like him, so, I know he can appreciate the people that’s like-minded in that sense. When it comes to just creating, growing up, Eminem influenced me a lot. So like I said, that’s a no-brainer to work with him, that’s a dream.
So far, the closes Boldy James came to collaborating with Em was on Big Sean’s “Friday Night Cypher” from “Detroit 2”, where Big Sean put together many Detroit rappers.
Watch the video below:
