Detroit rapper Boldy James injured in two-car crash, record label says

Detroit rapper injured in auto accident, record label says

Portrait of George Hunter George Hunter
The Detroit News

Detroit — Rapper Boldy James is recovering from surgery after being involved in a "serious two car accident in the Detroit metropolitan area" on Jan. 9, according to an Instagram post by his record label.

"I can confirm that Boldy arrived at the hospital in critical condition, suffering from broken vertebrae in his neck and orthopedic injuries," Griselda Records posted Saturday. "After undergoing extensive surgery on his neck, Boldy has been removed from the intensive care unit and now is stable condition."

Boldy James

Further details, including where the crash occurred, were not available Sunday, and the record label did not immediately return a request for comment.

James, whose real name is James Jones, was raised in Detroit. His first breakthrough in the music business came in 2009, when he appeared on a mixtape by The Cool Kids, a hip-hop duo that included his cousin from Mount Clemens.

He told The Detroit News in 2015 that he started selling drugs and drinking as a young child. He said he ran away from home at age 11 and spent years sleeping in cars and abandoned houses.

James told The News he had six children, four boys and two girls, and that he was enjoying life.

“This is a dream come true,” he said. “I’m not filthy rich, but just to be removed from the ghetto and be able to travel and see other cities, other states and how they rock, how they get down, I get to appreciate the simple things in life.

“I have these freedoms: being able to open up the refrigerator, jumping in my car whenever I like. I’ve been through some humbling situations, so I’m just chillin’,” James told The News. “I don’t get full of myself or too big for my britches. I just take everything as is, and I accept it for what it is.”

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