The Versace Tape

Some 20 seconds into the first proper song of *The Versace Tape*, we hear a sultry voice whisper “Griselda”—calling card of the Buffalo-originating record label of popular MCs Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, and Benny the Butcher. This stamping of the project, atop Vine star turned beatmaker Jay Versace\'s muted trumpet blows on “Maria,” is almost ceremonial, a necessary reminder that long-celebrated Detroit MC Boldy James has linked up with one of the most commercially promising yet like-minded labels in hip-hop. James, who first made a splash with 2011’s Trapper’s Alley: Pros and Cons mixtape, has done nothing over the past nine years if not rap in a technically impressive fashion. His rhyme style is paced and the stories vivid, leading to a number of celebrated solo projects, including full-length collaborations with producers The Alchemist and Sterling Toles. On *The Versace Tape*, Boldy stays the course, rapping unhurriedly about preparing and selling drugs—alongside Griselda’s Gunn, Elcamino, and Keisha Plum—over warped piano lines and masterfully cut soul sample loops. *The Versace Tape* is just 10 tracks (23 minutes in total), making it a perfect warm-up session for the team’s latest and greatest acquisition.

On his third album of 2020 and first for Griselda Records, the Detroit rapper continues to pry open windows onto his past, soul, and psyche.