Wikipedia
Billy Woods
Billy Woods (stylized as billy woods) is an American rapper based in New York.[1] He is also the founder of the record label Backwoodz Studioz.[2] Woods has been a member of Armand Hammer,[3] Super Chron Flight Brothers,[4] and The Reavers.[5]
Billy Woods | |
|---|---|
| Born | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Origin | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Backwoodz Studioz |
| Website | Billy Woods on Facebook |
Early life
Billy Woods was born in Washington, D.C.[6] His mother was an English literature professor from Jamaica.[3] His father was a PhD Marxist writer, active in the Zimbabwe War of Liberation and then member of the government in Zimbabwe.[7] In 1980, the family moved to Zimbabwe.[8] After the death of Woods' father,[6] they returned to the United States in 1989.[8] Woods briefly attended Howard University before getting involved in New York City's hip hop scene.[6] He started making music in the late 1990s.[9] He wrote his "first real rhyme" at a laundromat in Kennebunk, Maine in 1997.[8]
Career
Billy Woods released his debut solo album, Camouflage, on his record label Backwoodz Studioz in 2003.[6] In 2012, he released History Will Absolve Me.[10][11] In 2013, he released Dour Candy, which was entirely produced by Blockhead.[12][13] In 2017, he released Known Unknowns.[14] It was included on Rolling Stone's "15 Great Albums You Probably Didn't Hear in 2017" list.[15] In 2019, he released a collaborative album with producer Kenny Segal, titled Hiding Places,[16] as well as a solo album, Terror Management.[17] 2020 brought Brass, a collaborative album with Moor Mother. Woods released Aethiopes and Church in 2022.
Discography
Studio albums
- Camouflage (2003)
- The Chalice (2004)
- Terror Firma (2005) (The Reavers)
- Emergency Powers: The World Tour (2007) (Super Chron Flight Brothers)
- Indonesia (2009) (Super Chron Flight Brothers)
- Cape Verde (2010) (Super Chron Flight Brothers)
- History Will Absolve Me (2012)
- Dour Candy (2013)
- Today, I Wrote Nothing (2015)
- Known Unknowns (2017)
- Hiding Places (2019) (with Kenny Segal)
- Terror Management (2019)
- Brass (2020) (with Moor Mother) [18]
- Aethiopes (2022)[19]
- Church (2022)
Compilation albums
- Cowardly Threats & Hideous Cruelty (2011)
Mixtapes
- New York Times (2006) (The Reavers)
- Deleted Scenes (2009) (Super Chron Flight Brothers)
Singles
- "Slums / America / Dusted" (2005) (The Reavers)
- "Shadows" (2006) (The Reavers)
- "Dirtweed" (2007) (Super Chron Flight Brothers)
Guest appearances
- Invizzibl Men - "52 Lashings" from The Unveiling (2008)
- Vordul Mega - "Opium Scripts", "Air Battery", "Keep Livin'" and "Imani" from Megagraphitti (2008)
- Teleseen - "Chikurubi" and "Whiteworst" from Fear of the Forest (2009)
- A.M. Breakups - "Forms" and "Chapter 2" from The Cant Resurrection (2011)
- Cult Favorite - "Omega3" from For Madmen Only (2013)
- L'Orange - "The End" from The Orchid Days (2014)
- L'Orange - "Stop Growing" from After the Flowers (2015)
- Pawcut - "Vulture's Picnic" from Maverick (2015)
- ELUCID - "Who No Know Gon Know" and "Slumped" from Osage (2016)
- ELUCID - "Bleachwater" and "Lest They Forget" from Save Yourself (2016)
- Lushlife - "The Heart Is an Atomic Bomb" from My Idols Are Dead + My Enemies Are in Power (2017)
- Uncommon Nasa - "Written at Night" from Written at Night (2017)
- Mach-Hommy - "383 Myrtle" from Dumpmeister (2017)
- Curly Castro - "Ital-You-Can-Eat" from Tosh (2018)
- Blockhead - "Slippery Slope" from Free Sweatpants (2019)
- L'Orange & Jeremiah Jae - "Clay Pigeons" from Complicate Your Life with Violence (2019)
- Nicholas Craven - "Gyre" from Craven N 2 (2019)
- Shrapknel - "Estranged Fruit" from Shrapknel (2020)
- Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - "Grease from the Elbows" from Innocent Country 2 (2020)
- Preservation - "Lemon Rinds" and "Snow Globe" from Eastern Medicine, Western Illness (2020)
- Small Bills - "Sometimes Care Looks Like Leave Me the Fuck Alone" from "Don't Play it Straight" (2020)
- Navy Blue - "Poderoso" from Songs of Sage: Post Panic! (2020)
- YOUNGMAN & Celestaphone - "Human Rights" from A Year of Octobers (2021)
- Your Old Droog & Lil Ugly Mane - "Meteor Man" from Space Bar (2021)
- PremRock - "Bardo" from "Load Bearing Crow's Feet" (2022)
- ELUCID - "Sardonyx", "Nostrand", and "Mangosteen" from I Told Bessie (2022)
- Myles Bullen - "Ordinary Magic" from "Mourning Travels" (2022)[20]
- Algiers - "Bite Back" (2022)
References
- ^ Gillespie, Blake (April 20, 2012). "Nothing To Something: billy woods on overcoming writer's block". Impose. from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Faierman, Leonardo (November 9, 2017). "An Introduction to the Dystopian Hip-Hop of Backwoodz Studioz". Bandcamp Daily. from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ a b Diamond, Samuel (April 24, 2015). "billy woods "But one day it will be gone."". Tiny Mix Tapes. from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Tardio, Andres (August 30, 2010). "Super Chron Flight Brothers - Cape Verde". HipHopDX. from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Brown, Marisa. "Reavers - Biography". AllMusic. from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Mlynar, Phillip (May 31, 2017). "Billy Woods Is The Underground Rapper Chekhov Would Listen To". The Village Voice. from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Nguyen, Dean Van (January 9, 2013). "Time Goes By: Interview with Billy Woods". Nerdtorious. from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- ^ a b c Biswas, Joel (November 15, 2018). "Hope in a Hopeless Situation: An Interview With Billy Woods". Passion of the Weiss. from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- ^ Lipez, Zachary (June 28, 2013). "Billy Woods and Blockhead's Collaborative Album, 'Dour Candy,' is an Invigorating Hangover". Noisey. from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Bozzer, Mark (April 10, 2012). "Billy Woods: History Will Absolve Me". Exclaim!. from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ McCurry, Francisco (May 8, 2012). "Billy Woods – History Will Absolve Me". Potholes in My Blog. from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Ellison, Kyle (August 21, 2013). "Champion Sound #14: Ka, Starlito, Billy Woods". Drowned in Sound. from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Patrin, Nate (August 14, 2013). "Billy Woods: Dour Candy". Pitchfork. from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Thompson, Paul (October 6, 2017). "billy woods Is at the Forefront of Rap's Avant-Garde". Noisey. from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Reeves, Mosi (December 19, 2017). "15 Great Albums You Probably Didn't Hear in 2017: Billy Woods, 'Known Unknowns'". Rolling Stone. from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (March 29, 2019). "Stream billy woods & Kenny Segal's New Album Hiding Places". Stereogum. from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ^ Carmichael, Rodney (December 11, 2019). "9 Afro Dystopian Rap Albums As Dark And Droll As 2019". NPR. from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- ^ "BRASS from Moor Mother & billy woods". Backwoodz Studioz. 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
- ^ "BILLY WOODS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE". Backwoodz Studioz. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ "Your Old Droog announces new album, shares "Meteor Man" featuring Lil Ugly Mane and billy woods". The FADER. 15 November 2021.
External links
- BackwoodzStudioz.com
- Billy Woods discography at Discogs