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Billy Woods (born c. 1977–1979; stylized in all lowercase) is an American rapper based in New York. He is also the founder of the record label Backwoodz Studioz. Woods has been a member of Armand Hammer, Super Chron Flight Brothers, and The Reavers.

Early life

Billy Woods was born in Washington, D.C. His mother was an English literature professor from Jamaica. His father was a PhD Marxist writer, active in the Zimbabwe War of Liberation and then member of the government in Zimbabwe. In 1980, the family moved to Zimbabwe. Following his father's death, the family returned to the United States, moving to Washington D.C. in 1989. Woods briefly attended Howard University before getting involved in New York's hip hop scene. He started making music in the late 1990s, writing his "first real rhyme" at a laundromat in Kennebunk, Maine in 1997.

Woods founded the Backwoodz Studioz label inspired by the success of independent releases The Cold Vein and Operation: Doomsday.

Career

Billy Woods founded the record label Backwoodz Studioz in 2003, and released his debut album, Camouflage, through Backwoodz that same year. In the early years of his career, he was a protégé of Cannibal Ox's Vordul Mega. Throughout the 2000s, the majority of Woods' output was released through the duo Super Chron Flight Brothers, which comprised him and fellow rapper Priviledge. Woods describes his work with Super Chron Flight brothers as emphasizing "the comedy and tragedy angle". By the early 2010s, Super Chron Flight Brothers had split up, and Backwoodz Studioz had been largely unable to make a profit. Woods subsequently decided to complete another solo album, 2012's History Will Absolve Me; Woods intended for it to be his final release before leaving the music industry. History Will Absolve Me proved more successful than Woods anticipated, revitalizing Woods' career and attaining a reputation as a cult classic of underground hip hop.

In 2013, Woods released Dour Candy, which was entirely produced by Blockhead. In 2017, he released Known Unknowns. It was included on Rolling Stone's "15 Great Albums You Probably Didn't Hear in 2017" list. In 2019, he released a collaborative album with producer Kenny Segal, titled Hiding Places, as well as a solo album, Terror Management. 2020 brought Brass, a collaborative album with Moor Mother. Woods released Aethiopes and Church in 2022. On 27 March 2023, Woods announced his second collaboration with the producer Kenny Segal titled Maps. The album was released on 5 May 2023. It was preceded by two singles, "Facetime", which was released on 12 April 2023 and featured the Baltimore singer Samuel T. Herring, and "Soft Landing", which was released 3 May 2023.

Media has noted that Woods has his face obscured in publicity photos.

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)
• Aethiopes (2022) (with Preservation)
• Church (2022) (with Messiah Musik)
• Maps (2023) (with Kenny Segal)

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)
• "Facetime" (2023) (with Kenny Segal, feat. Samuel T. Herring)

Guest appearances

• Invizzibl Men - "52 Lashings" from The Unveiling (2008)
• Vordul Mega - "Opium Scripts"; "Air Battery"; "Keep Livin'" + "Imani" from Megagraphitti (2008)
• Teleseen - "Chikurubi"; "Whiteworst" from Fear of the Forest (2009)
• A.M. Breakups - "Forms" + "Chapter 2" from The Cant Resurrection (2011)
• Cult Favorite - "Omega3" from For Madmen Only (2013)
• Uncommon NaSa - "The Stakes" from New York Telephone (2014)
• 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" + "Slumped" from Osage (2016)
• ELUCID - "Bleachwater" + "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)
• LNYCHPIN - "Move on" (feat. Lt Headtrip) (prod. Uncommon Nasa) from "LNYCHPIN" (2017)
• Henry Canyons - "It Don't Mean a Thing" from Cool Side of the Pillow (2018)
• Curly Castro - "Ital-You-Can-Eat" from Tosh (2018)
• MarQ Spekt - "Pagan Politics" from At War with the Slippery Shadows (2018)
• Blockhead - "Slippery Slope" from Free Sweatpants (2019)
• Teether & Stoneset - "Overthought" from Don't Come Back Here (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" + "Snow Globe" from Eastern Medicine, Western Illness (2020)
• FIELDED - "Justus" from Demisexual Lovelace (2020)
• Infinite Disease - "Anomalady" from DISEASTRA (2020)
• P.S. 4080 - "Cracks" from Paradigm Shift (2020)
• Small Bills - "Sometimes Care Looks Like Leave Me the Fuck Alone" from Don't Play it Straight (2020)
• Your Old Droog - "Odessa" from Dump YOD: Krutoy Edition (2020)
• Navy Blue - "Poderoso" from Songs of Sage: Post Panic! (2020)
• YOUNGMAN & Celestaphone - "Human Rights" from A Year of Octobers (2021)
• Pink Sifu - "Numbers on yo head" from Negro Deluxe (2021)
• Curly Castro - "Killmonger Was Right" from Little Robert Hutton (2021)
• Steel Tipped Dove - "Kingston"; "Nft"; "Buddy Ryan" + "Simple Machines" from Call Me When You're Outside (2021)
• SPECTACULAR DIAGNOSTICS - "A Gesture of... Fearlessness?" from Ancient Methods (2021)
• John Forte - "Good Money" from Vessels, Angels & Ancestors (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"; "Mangosteen" + "Jumanji" from I Told Bessie (2022)
• Myles Bullen - "Ordinary Magic" from "Mourning Travels" (2022)
• Algiers - "Bite Back" (2022)
• Tom Caruana - "Saltfish" from Strange Planet (2022)
• Jeff Markey - "Floaters" from Sports and Leisure (2022)
• Moses Rockwell - "Postmodern Moped" from Until You Run out of Cake (2022)
• Manco Wilder - "Woody Guthrie" from The Phantom of the Corner Store (2023)
• Skech185 & Jeff Markey - "Western Automatic Music, Pt. 2" from He Left Nothing for the Swim Back (2023)
• Fielded - "Windbreaker"; "Worlds Away" from Plus One (2023)
• The Alchemist - "RIP Tracy" from Flying High (2023)
• Richie Culver - "Swollen" from Scream If You Don't Exist (2023)
• Kofi Flexx - "Apothecary" from Flowers in the Dark (2023)
• Noname - "gospel?" from Sundial (2023)
• Aesop Rock - "Living Curfew" from Integrated Tech Solutions (2023)
• Blockhead - "AAU Tournaments" + "Now That's What I Call A Posse Cut Vol. 56." from The Aux (2023)
• Shabaka - "Time Pieces" (2024)
• Ol' Burger Beats - "Black Sabbath" from 74: Out of Time (2024)
• OKSE - "Omager" from OKSE (2024)
• Real Bad Man - "The Initiates Piece" from Temple Needs Water. Village Needs peace. (2024)
• Hemlock Ernst - "Inherit My Speech" from The Fall Collection (2024)
• ELUCID - "Bad Pollen"; "Instant Transfer" from REVELATOR (2024)
• Panchiko - "Shandy in the Graveyard" from Ginkgo (2025)

References

1. Lipez, Zachary (March 26, 2021). "Armand Hammer adds the Alchemist to make for an even more intriguing brand of underground rap". Washington Post. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
2. ^ Buford, Jayson (May 4, 2023). "billy woods Makes Himself at Home". Vice. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
3. Gillespie, Blake (April 20, 2012). "Nothing To Something: billy woods on overcoming writer's block". Impose. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
4. Faierman, Leonardo (November 9, 2017). "An Introduction to the Dystopian Hip-Hop of Backwoodz Studioz". Bandcamp Daily. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
5. ^ Diamond, Samuel (April 24, 2015). "billy woods "But one day it will be gone."". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
6. Tardio, Andres (August 30, 2010). "Super Chron Flight Brothers - Cape Verde". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
7. Brown, Marisa. "Reavers - Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
8. ^ Mlynar, Phillip (May 31, 2017). "Billy Woods Is The Underground Rapper Chekhov Would Listen To". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
9. ^ Nguyen, Dean Van (January 9, 2013). "Time Goes By: Interview with Billy Woods". Nerdtorious. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
10. ^ Biswas, Joel (November 15, 2018). "Hope in a Hopeless Situation: An Interview With Billy Woods". Passion of the Weiss. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
11. Lipez, Zachary (June 28, 2013). "Billy Woods and Blockhead's Collaborative Album, 'Dour Candy,' is an Invigorating Hangover". Noisey. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
12. ^ Malone, Anthony (May 3, 2023). "Underground Rap Hero Billy Woods on Coming Full Circle". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
13. Reeves, Mosi (May 4, 2023). "billy woods' 'Maps' is the Kind of Album That's Designed to Get You Lost". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
14. Bozzer, Mark (April 10, 2012). "Billy Woods: History Will Absolve Me". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
15. McCurry, Francisco (May 8, 2012). "Billy Woods – History Will Absolve Me". Potholes in My Blog. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
16. ^ Van Nguyen, Dean (April 11, 2022). "billy woods: Aethiopes Album Review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
17. Ellison, Kyle (August 21, 2013). "Champion Sound #14: Ka, Starlito, Billy Woods". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
18. Patrin, Nate (August 14, 2013). "Billy Woods: Dour Candy". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
19. Thompson, Paul (October 6, 2017). "billy woods Is at the Forefront of Rap's Avant-Garde". Noisey. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
20. Reeves, Mosi (December 19, 2017). "15 Great Albums You Probably Didn't Hear in 2017: Billy Woods, 'Known Unknowns'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
21. Breihan, Tom (March 29, 2019). "Stream billy woods & Kenny Segal's New Album Hiding Places". Stereogum. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
22. Carmichael, Rodney (December 11, 2019). "9 Afro Dystopian Rap Albums As Dark And Droll As 2019". NPR. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
23. Breihan, Tom (27 March 2023). "billy woods & Kenny Segal Announce New Collaborative Album Maps". Stereogum.
24. Chick, Stevie (8 May 2023). "David Attenborough, weed and 'American apartheid': the awesome mind of rapper Billy Woods". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
25. Reeves, Mosi (4 May 2023). "billy woods' 'Maps' is the Kind of Album That's Designed to Get You Lost". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
26. "BRASS from Moor Mother & billy woods". Backwoodz Studioz. 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
27. "BILLY WOODS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE". Backwoodz Studioz. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
28. "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

• Living people
• 1970s births
• American rappers of Jamaican descent
• American musicians of Zimbabwean descent
• American male rappers
• Rappers from New York City
• Underground rappers
• Indie rappers
• 21st-century American rappers
• 21st-century American male musicians