Eminem prays for Boldy James’s speedy recovery after a serious car accident. Although they are not close friends, the Detroit rapper spent two hours on a heartfelt gesture, knowing it might help uplift and restore James’s life. Respect!

In a recent episode of the Griselda Chronicles podcast, Detroit rapper Boldy James opened up about a life-altering moment from early 2023 that he says he’ll never forget. Nearly two years after a devastating car accident that left him on the brink of a vegetative state, James shared a deeply emotional story about a heartfelt gesture from fellow Motor City legend Eminem. The story, recounted with raw gratitude, painted a vivid picture of a moment that helped pull him through one of the darkest periods of his life.

On January 9, 2023, Boldy James was involved in a severe two-car accident in the Detroit metropolitan area. The crash left him in critical condition, with broken vertebrae in his neck and multiple orthopedic injuries. “I don’t remember much from the accident itself,” James said on the podcast, his voice steady but tinged with the weight of the memory. “It was like I blinked, and I was in the hospital, hooked up to machines, not knowing if I’d ever walk or rap again.” According to a statement released by his team at the time, James underwent extensive neck surgery and was moved out of the intensive care unit into stable condition, thanks to the tireless efforts of doctors, nurses, and first responders.

The hip-hop community rallied around James during his recovery. Artists like Jay Worthy, A$AP Ant, Jalen Rose, and Westside Gunn, a close collaborator and Griselda labelmate, publicly shared their support. Gunn’s emotional tweet at the time captured the gravity of the situation: “Please keep my brother in y’all prayers… he’s a strong soul and fighter. He’s still talking ’bout ‘GXFR x 227′ forever! Just hearing them words broke me down, but GOD IS THE GREATEST and BO [is] gonna be better than ever.” Eminem, another Detroit icon, also chimed in with a concise but heartfelt message on social media: “Sending out best wishes [of] a quick recovery for The D’s own [Boldy James]!”

But it was a private moment between James and Eminem, one that went unreported at the time, that left an indelible mark on the Griselda rapper. “Man, I gotta give flowers to Marshall,” James said on the podcast, referring to Eminem by his real name, Marshall Mathers. “He didn’t just send a tweet or a message through somebody. He showed up. He came to the hospital, sat by my bed, held my hand, and talked to me for, like, two hours straight. I was barely conscious, but I felt that energy. I knew he was there.”

James recounted how Eminem’s visit came at a time when he was grappling with the uncertainty of his future. “I was in and out, you know? The doctors were saying I might not make it, or if I did, I might not be the same. I couldn’t move my neck, couldn’t feel much. It was scary as hell,” he admitted. “But then Marshall walks in, no cameras, no entourage, just him. He sat there, held my hand, and started talking to me like we’d known each other forever. He was telling me stories about his own struggles, about how he came back from dark places. He was like, ‘Boldy, you’re a fighter. Detroit don’t breed quitters.’”

Though the two rappers weren’t particularly close before the accident, sharing only a mutual respect as artists from the same city, Eminem’s gesture was a powerful reminder of the unspoken bond between Detroit’s creatives. “We ain’t never kicked it like that, you know? We’d crossed paths, nodded at each other, respected the craft, but that was it,” James explained. “For him to take that time, to sit there and pour into me when I was at my lowest—that’s real. That’s love. That’s Detroit.”

During the podcast, James’s voice cracked as he reflected on the impact of Eminem’s words. “He didn’t have to do that. He’s Eminem, man. He’s got a million things going on, but he made time for me. He was telling me about how he watched my career, how he respected my grind, my storytelling. He said, ‘You got something special, Boldy. Don’t let this stop you.’ That stuck with me. Even when I couldn’t talk back, I was listening. I was holding on to every word.”

The visit, which James kept private until now, became a turning point in his recovery. “I don’t know if it was the medicine or what, but after he left, I felt different. Like, I had a reason to fight harder,” he said. “I kept thinking, ‘If Marshall believes in me, I gotta believe in me.’ That’s when I started pushing through the pain, the rehab, all of it. I wanted to get back to the booth, back to my family, back to my city.”

James’s recovery was nothing short of miraculous. By mid-2023, he was back in the studio, channeling his pain and gratitude into his music. His 2022 project, Be That as It May, produced by Cuns, had already showcased his lyrical prowess, with features from Lord Apex, Bo Skeet, and Taj Mahal. But the accident added a new layer of depth to his work. Collaborative projects like Killing Nothing with Real Bad Man, Fair Exchange No Robbery with Nicholas Craven, and Mr. Ten08 with Futurewave, all released in 2022, had kept his fans engaged, but his post-accident output carried a renewed sense of purpose.

“I’m still here, still spitting, still telling my story,” James said on the podcast. “And I owe a lot of that to the people who held me down—my family, my team, my fans, and yeah, Marshall. I don’t think I’d be sitting here without that moment in the hospital. It gave me something to hold onto when I didn’t have much left.”

As the podcast episode drew to a close, James took a moment to address Eminem directly. “Marshall, if you’re listening, man, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You didn’t just give me words; you gave me hope. You gave me a piece of your strength when I needed it most. I’ma keep making you proud, keep making Detroit proud.”

The hip-hop world has always been a space of camaraderie and competition, but stories like this remind us of the humanity that binds its artists together. Eminem’s quiet act of kindness, sitting bedside with a fellow rapper in need, speaks volumes about his character and his connection to his hometown. For Boldy James, it was more than a gesture—it was a lifeline. As he continues to rebuild his life and career, he carries with him the memory of that day and the words of a legend who helped him find his way back.