“Indiana Jones” by Boldy James & RichGains

An under-the-radar hip-hop gem from earlier this year.

Hello! 😊👋

Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!

Today’s music pick is an under-the-radar hip-hop record that’s quietly become one of the genre’s strongest releases in 2023.

Genre: Hip-Hop

Label: Self-released

Release Date: January 20, 2023

Vibe: 🥶

Less than a week before dropping Indiana Jones, his latest project and collaboration with RichGains, Boldy James reportedly underwent surgery to address serious injuries he sustained in a car accident. Though surely unplanned, this tale of his near-death experience adds fuel to the bleak, often chilly atmosphere conveyed by the record. The combination of slinky piano bars, occasionally off-putting bass, and disembodied vocal croons build a hazy foundation underneath James’ rhymes, lowering you into bad memories and inconvenient truths like a body into an ice bath.

What impressed me was how vulnerable the rapper allows himself to be, which helps take his writing to intriguing, uncharted territory. Tracks like “Never Had a Friend,” “Frozen,” and “Kat Eyes” grapple with weighty subject matter, spitting in a voice that’s so laid-back it verges on eerie. Other songs bring a bit of levity into the mix, such as “SOS” and “Dopey,” the latter featuring a fun bit of sampling work. That said, the record’s best moments are its darkest, where James weaves weary honesty into deliveries of lines like: “I bet you they die 'fore the s*** even heal/In the field where it's kill or be killed.”

It may leave you cold but it’s an underrated gem from one of the best emcees in the game.

👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈