billy woods – GOLLIWOG
Working with an array of collaborators with impressive cohesivity, on his latest album, billy woods reflects on race and class through surrealist, horror-inspired soundscapes
Plugging away in the underground for over two decades, New York's billy woods has emerged as the primary abstract hip-hop act over the last five years. His 2023 collaboration with Kenny Segal, Maps, fully established woods as one of the genre's most intriguing voices, detailing the world-weariness of constant travel. His overlapping rhymes and observations invite you into a fascinating world that is familiar but with a constant feeling of uneasiness. His latest work, GOLLIWOG, is perhaps the best distillation of this conflict, where, as the name suggests, woods takes the listener's hand through a dark and disturbing dystopia, reflecting on race and class through surrealist, horror-inspired soundscapes.
Despite being an unnerving, disorienting listen, where samples of screams or phone calls clash with blank verse lines weaving in and out of consciousness, GOLLIWOG is a hugely rewarding experience. Blending an immense array of collaborators on the mic and behind the desk, it somehow manages to string them together cohesively in impressive fashion. Trusted muse Kenny Segal produces two of the album's standout tracks, Misery and Born Alone, while EL-P lends his signature style perfectly to Corinthians. Of course, like all of woods' work, GOLLIWOG is designed to be "enjoyed" as a whole, just make sure you survive.
Listen to: Misery, Corinthians, BLK ZMBY