Late to My Own Funeral – Boldy James & Nicholas Craven

By Leo Hewitt-Provost

“IF I WAS A SHAPE, I’D BE A TRAPEZOID , AP LIKE A OCTAGON, COUNTING UP THESE RECTANGLES, ROCK ARE LIKE RICK RUBIN, ALL THESE CUBAN ON MY NECK TANGLE, BANGLE ON HER RIGHT WRIST, ANKLET ON HER LEFT ANKLE, HE KNOW SHE WITH ME IF SHE BE POSTING FROM HER BEST ANGLE. 

With the release of their third collaborative project ‘Late to My Own Funeral’, few duos can rival the run Boldy James and Nicholas Craven have been on over the past three years. Boldy James’ fans were immediately hooked when Fair Exchange No Robbery was released in 2022, the project which, is widely considered to be amongst James’ and Craven’s best.

The truth is both artists form a strong chemistry and have since they first linked up on Yzerman, a song that was released as part of Nicholas Craven’s Craven ‘N’ 3’s rollout. The rest, as both artists would likely say, is “history.” Penalty of Leadership—their second project—was a significant release, arriving during Boldy James’s recovery from a nearly fatal car accident.

To this day, Penalty of Leadership remains his most personal and authentic body of work. Throughout his recovery, Nicholas Craven stood by his side, while fans showed their support in the way they knew best—by continuing to stream his music. 

James has mentioned being “late to his own funeral” before. The line, which he wrote while working with Futurewave on Mr. Ten08 in 2022, turned out to be surprisingly significant. He first dropped it on Flag from The Play: “I'ma be late to my own funeral procession.” He then repeated the phrase on Benny the Butcher’s latest track, Duffel Bag Hottie’s Revenge, where he declares, “It’s safe to say I’ma be late to own funeral.” While no one could have predicted that this would become the title of the duo’s third project together, the connection was clear from the very start. 

Late to My Own Funeral opens with Spider Webbing Windshields, a single that was released over two months ago, and served as an appetizer, it wasn’t long after when Nicholas Craven announced that he and James would release their third project in the summer. A perfect blend of a smooth and meticulous sound, where Craven utilizes a beautiful piano sample. 

The second track of the project: ‘Marrero’ is proof that Nicholas Craven and Boldy James aren’t just comfortable doing what they do best, and that they are willing to do something different. Marrero isn’t a track we’re used to hearing from Nicholas Craven, with a somber undertone and a feeling of uneasiness, Boldy James looks unfazed as he raps about where his connect is from, his many ventures, and being in charge: “clotheslining out the dresser, I'm a whole Simon, they do what I tell them if I tell hitters to go find him.” The tone on Marrero is much slower, as is the tempo, which allows James to hit his spots much cleaner. He mentions power, drug dealing, grieving for lost ones and demanding respect in the streets. 

The transition between Marrero and Trapezoid is unconventional to say the least, here we have a prime example of both Craven and Boldy James not conforming to one lane, and instead doing what they do best, to create more sounds. On Trapezoid, James proclaims the following “if I was a shape, I'd be a trapezoid , AP like a octagon, counting up these rectangles, rocks are like Rick Rubin, all these Cuban on my neck tangle, bangle on her right wrist, anklet on her left ankle, he know she with me if she be posting from her best angle. 

Much like what we know from Craven. this whole song is a big metaphor for hustling. A trapezoid is asymmetric meaning this could reference James’ way of saying he’s unconventional, sharp-edged. He mentions being in the spotlight and attracting attention from many people. 

Boldy James can also show retrospection, and is more vulnerable, such as on Genie in a Bottle, where James talks about what he wishes he could have done, what he still wants to do, and mentions regrets. 

The track list of Late to My Own Funeral features David Wesson, C Dell and Nick Bruno, with David Wesson appearing on Cordon Bleu – named after the famous French dish – Cordon Bleu is a strong track, with all artists showing consistency in their work. 

C Dell and Nick Bruno both appear on the last song of the project, on At&T, where it feels like we are hearing top tier lyricism from everyone. Boldy James might as well be rapping in one take and he is making himself known on this track, showing versatility in his cadence and breath control, and his way of speaking. To release songs with artists most don’t know is a skill in itself- it's not done easily, and James's tenacity and relentless to make his point across was a delight. 

It would be a lie to say that whenever Boldy James and Nicholas Craven link together, their music doesn’t hit, well unless you’re not into Hip-Hop. The ten-track project is once more another successful release from both artists, who continue to cement themselves as emblematic figures in hip-hop. Songs like The Whole Shabang are everything that you could hope when listening to those two men. Boldy mentions life, the highs, the lows, having to do what we wish we didn’t have to. He creates an imagery so vivid that it’s hard to ignore it. 

Should people expect more from Boldy James and Nicholas Craven? Depends on who you ask; but their approach in making music certainly doesn’t go unnoticed here. They have found a formula that works, and James’ vivid lyricism keeps on delivering, over beautiful instrumentals from Nicholas Craven. All guests on Late to My Own Funeral brought their uniqueness, and that’s all we can keep hoping when listening to these bodies of work, Craven and James working alongside a range of different artists, because we know what to expect from these two.