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Album Of The Year #9: billy woods - Known Unknowns

Artist: billy woods

Album: Known Unknowns

Label: Backwoodz Studioz

Release Date: June 9, 2017

Listen:

Spotify

Apple Music

YouTube

Background

billy woods is quite the enigmatic figure in hip hop, one who is shrouded in mystery, rarely exposing any part of his personal life or even appearance to a degree. billy was born in Washington DC, but resided in New York City for most of his life, also spending a good amount of his childhood in Africa and the West Indies, which sets billy up with many different exposures to different cultures and life experiences, which shows in his music. billy began his career over a decade ago and has been a part of 3 groups, The Reavers, Super Chron Flight Brothers, and most recently Armand Hammer with fellow New York underground MC, Elucid. Although billy has been rapping for over a decade, he didn’t quite become a truly one of a kind rapper until he began releasing albums in 2012. Since then he has accumulated one of the strongest discographies of the 2010’s with his most recent, and my AOTY, Known Unknowns being his best so far. On Known Unknowns, billy teams up with legendary underground producer blockhead for their second collaborative album.

Review

Prior to hearing this album, I had never listened to billy woods, he was a rapper that I had heard a few times on occasional features but never one that I remembered or took the time to listen to. However, this year when I saw the [FRESH] Known Unknowns thread, I was intrigued. People in the thread were talking about how Blockhead had some of his best work ever on this project and that billy was a lyrical monster, so naturally as a person digging into the underground I checked it out. First impressions were good, but confused.

billy’s style and approach to lyrics is something that not everyone will enjoy, as it is abstract and on the surface it seems like he is talking about jibberish. The lyrics that kick off the album set the tone pretty well,

“Walked in scanning the room for human shields Victory formation, only time he ever kneels Reeducation camp greeter, name tag says "Bill" Is this your first time in the killing fields? We're not trying to reinvent the wheel”

, which just seems like a bunch of ridiculous statements strung together, but that is what makes me love billy. His lyrics are so esoteric, sporadic, completely unpredictable, and absolute genius. Where I truly believe billy’s lyrics shine the most is in his dark comedic tone occasionally and his “one liners”. The entirety of the song Police Came To My Show is very funny, he talks about having no merchandise sales, getting into weird conversations with fans, and an unexpected entry of cops into his show. Although he has this comedic side to him, he also has a dark depressed and paranoid side to him, each of these are exhibited best on the songs Everybody Knows and Keloid. So, billy isn’t the only one rapping on this album, he pulls rap features from Aesop Rock, Homeboy Sandman, and fellow Armand Hammer member Elucid, oh and also kind of Googie but he gave half a verse. All of the first three absolutely make the most of their verses, Aesop having my favorite of the three. Aesop and Homeboy Sandman were perfect for Wonderful, which ended up being one of my favorite tracks with multiple rap features this year. Lyrics aren’t the only thing that stand out about billy, his manic flow, varied vocal delivery and unique voice all combine for a rapper that is impossible to forget. Often times his delivery will come to a point where he seems like he’s shouting, there is a lot of passion and sometimes conveys emotion very well. Yet again an example in Everybody Knows, when he delivers the hook, as it progresses and he continues to repeat the chorus his voice and delivery becomes more manic and paranoid. billy paints a picture of a loner living in the underbelly of New York City who is incredibly cynical about his surroundings.

Now if you notice, I have yet to talk about the production, which is in my opinion the best thing about Known Unknowns. It’s difficult to put into words how much I truly adore the production on this album. The beats sound so otherworldly and apocalyptic yet they’re still rooted in hip hop. Each beat is so layered masterfully, that it will take you many listens to truly uncover these layers, and it’s a joy to discover them. Blockhead’s sampling all across this album is absolutely insane, the work he does with vocal samples is subtle yet so effective. Subtle yet effective is a good way of describing a lot of the appeal of the production, you don’t even realize that over the course of the song the beat has added and dropped layers to essentially be a consistently subtle beat change on a bunch of songs. The bass on this album is incredible, it sounds like a live bass guitar that grooves along with the samples and guides the beats along, this is especially evident on the songs Strawman and Wonderful, which also sounds extremely sci-fi inspired. As do most of the beats on here, as I said earlier they sound otherworldly, the collection of beats on Known Unknowns transports me into a world of its own. There are truly hellish beats on here, on songs like Superpredator and Robespierre, which are probably my two favorite beats on the whole project. Another notable thing about the production is the use of scratching fairly frequently. I’m a sucker for this type of stuff, it gives this album yet another layer of complexity. Now not every single beat was done by blockhead alone, Aesop Rock helped co-produce Bush League and Cheap Shoes, which are some pretty great beats, but every beat on here is great to be fair. As you all can see, I was completely floored by this production. Even just the instrumental version of Known Unknowns is incredibly enjoyable. Blockhead thoroughly impressed me more than he ever had.

Overall, Known Unknowns is an experience of an album, one that deserves multiple listens to truly grasp the genius of. So, if you are like me, within months you’ll be quoting billy woods one liners and gushing over the absolute display of fucking beat making mastery from blockhead. This is an album I don’t expect everyone to love, honestly billy is not a rapper many will love, but if this style is your thing he’s one of the best out right now.

Favorite Lyrics

Let off in the club mad loud, Don’t errybody go get sad now, Used to listen to Bacdafucup Before they clapped Mac’s truck up Kool G Rap to us, Fredrick Douglass With a Dutch Criminal Minded, dead men pose, 9 Milli go hard than the beat to Super Hoe, Lean out the car one eye closed and wash, Negroes off the block like a fire hose

“Superpredator”

Head on swivel, prosthetic hand on pistol Ham on griddle, ribbons of gristle Found me in the woods, fire low, roach little Eyes aglow, mouth full of riddles

“Snake Oil”

Wanted to know if they got they money worth, But both slipped out after my last verse, Zero merch sales later I’m at the bar Seltzer water omeprazole chaser, Original plan was pay the piper later But as it turns out he bout his paper

“Police Came To My Show”

Luckily cannabis his constant companion, Crisp as the skin on that Wu-Tang salmon, Grudgingly put his name in the fuckin’ canon

“Fall Back”

Text written never pressed send, voices in my head is all yes men, consensus is yes Fucked up again, friends, how many of us have them, hard bargains, shotgun apartments Smirking sergeants, certain death the direction you march in

“Keloid”

Discussion Topics

If this was your introduction to billy woods, did it defy your expectations?

What is your favorite verse/lyric on this album? Beat?

Does this album cement blockhead’s legacy as one of if not the greatest underground producer ever?

Do you think this is billy woods’ best album yet?

With this and ROME both being phenomenal records, is billy woods the MVP of 2017?

Thanks for reading guys! And yes if you were wondering I switched from Rosebudd's Revenge to do my actual Album Of The Year Known Unknowns!

Artist: billy woodsAlbum: Known UnknownsLabel: Backwoodz StudiozRelease Date: June 9, 2017Listen:SpotifyApple MusicYouTubeBackgroundbilly woods is quite the enigmatic figure in hip hop, one who is shrouded in mystery, rarely exposing any part of his personal life or even appearance to a degree. billy was born in Washington DC, but resided in New York City for most of his life, also spending a good amount of his childhood in Africa and the West Indies, which sets billy up with many different exposures to different cultures and life experiences, which shows in his music. billy began his career over a decade ago and has been a part of 3 groups, The Reavers, Super Chron Flight Brothers, and most recently Armand Hammer with fellow New York underground MC, Elucid. Although billy has been rapping for over a decade, he didn’t quite become a truly one of a kind rapper until he began releasing albums in 2012. Since then he has accumulated one of the strongest discographies of the 2010’s with his most recent, and my AOTY, Known Unknowns being his best so far. On Known Unknowns, billy teams up with legendary underground producer blockhead for their second collaborative album.ReviewPrior to hearing this album, I had never listened to billy woods, he was a rapper that I had heard a few times on occasional features but never one that I remembered or took the time to listen to. However, this year when I saw the [FRESH] Known Unknowns thread, I was intrigued. People in the thread were talking about how Blockhead had some of his best work ever on this project and that billy was a lyrical monster, so naturally as a person digging into the underground I checked it out. First impressions were good, but confused.billy’s style and approach to lyrics is something that not everyone will enjoy, as it is abstract and on the surface it seems like he is talking about jibberish. The lyrics that kick off the album set the tone pretty well,“Walked in scanning the room for human shields Victory formation, only time he ever kneels Reeducation camp greeter, name tag says "Bill" Is this your first time in the killing fields? We're not trying to reinvent the wheel”, which just seems like a bunch of ridiculous statements strung together, but that is what makes me love billy. His lyrics are so esoteric, sporadic, completely unpredictable, and absolute genius. Where I truly believe billy’s lyrics shine the most is in his dark comedic tone occasionally and his “one liners”. The entirety of the song Police Came To My Show is very funny, he talks about having no merchandise sales, getting into weird conversations with fans, and an unexpected entry of cops into his show. Although he has this comedic side to him, he also has a dark depressed and paranoid side to him, each of these are exhibited best on the songs Everybody Knows and Keloid. So, billy isn’t the only one rapping on this album, he pulls rap features from Aesop Rock, Homeboy Sandman, and fellow Armand Hammer member Elucid, oh and also kind of Googie but he gave half a verse. All of the first three absolutely make the most of their verses, Aesop having my favorite of the three. Aesop and Homeboy Sandman were perfect for Wonderful, which ended up being one of my favorite tracks with multiple rap features this year. Lyrics aren’t the only thing that stand out about billy, his manic flow, varied vocal delivery and unique voice all combine for a rapper that is impossible to forget. Often times his delivery will come to a point where he seems like he’s shouting, there is a lot of passion and sometimes conveys emotion very well. Yet again an example in Everybody Knows, when he delivers the hook, as it progresses and he continues to repeat the chorus his voice and delivery becomes more manic and paranoid. billy paints a picture of a loner living in the underbelly of New York City who is incredibly cynical about his surroundings.Now if you notice, I have yet to talk about the production, which is in my opinion the best thing about Known Unknowns. It’s difficult to put into words how much I truly adore the production on this album. The beats sound so otherworldly and apocalyptic yet they’re still rooted in hip hop. Each beat is so layered masterfully, that it will take you many listens to truly uncover these layers, and it’s a joy to discover them. Blockhead’s sampling all across this album is absolutely insane, the work he does with vocal samples is subtle yet so effective. Subtle yet effective is a good way of describing a lot of the appeal of the production, you don’t even realize that over the course of the song the beat has added and dropped layers to essentially be a consistently subtle beat change on a bunch of songs. The bass on this album is incredible, it sounds like a live bass guitar that grooves along with the samples and guides the beats along, this is especially evident on the songs Strawman and Wonderful, which also sounds extremely sci-fi inspired. As do most of the beats on here, as I said earlier they sound otherworldly, the collection of beats on Known Unknowns transports me into a world of its own. There are truly hellish beats on here, on songs like Superpredator and Robespierre, which are probably my two favorite beats on the whole project. Another notable thing about the production is the use of scratching fairly frequently. I’m a sucker for this type of stuff, it gives this album yet another layer of complexity. Now not every single beat was done by blockhead alone, Aesop Rock helped co-produce Bush League and Cheap Shoes, which are some pretty great beats, but every beat on here is great to be fair. As you all can see, I was completely floored by this production. Even just the instrumental version of Known Unknowns is incredibly enjoyable. Blockhead thoroughly impressed me more than he ever had.Overall, Known Unknowns is an experience of an album, one that deserves multiple listens to truly grasp the genius of. So, if you are like me, within months you’ll be quoting billy woods one liners and gushing over the absolute display of fucking beat making mastery from blockhead. This is an album I don’t expect everyone to love, honestly billy is not a rapper many will love, but if this style is your thing he’s one of the best out right now.Favorite LyricsLet off in the club mad loud, Don’t errybody go get sad now, Used to listen to Bacdafucup Before they clapped Mac’s truck up Kool G Rap to us, Fredrick Douglass With a Dutch Criminal Minded, dead men pose, 9 Milli go hard than the beat to Super Hoe, Lean out the car one eye closed and wash, Negroes off the block like a fire hose“Superpredator”Head on swivel, prosthetic hand on pistol Ham on griddle, ribbons of gristle Found me in the woods, fire low, roach little Eyes aglow, mouth full of riddles“Snake Oil”Wanted to know if they got they money worth, But both slipped out after my last verse, Zero merch sales later I’m at the bar Seltzer water omeprazole chaser, Original plan was pay the piper later But as it turns out he bout his paper“Police Came To My Show”Luckily cannabis his constant companion, Crisp as the skin on that Wu-Tang salmon, Grudgingly put his name in the fuckin’ canon“Fall Back”Text written never pressed send, voices in my head is all yes men, consensus is yes Fucked up again, friends, how many of us have them, hard bargains, shotgun apartments Smirking sergeants, certain death the direction you march in“Keloid”Discussion TopicsIf this was your introduction to billy woods, did it defy your expectations?What is your favorite verse/lyric on this album? Beat?Does this album cement blockhead’s legacy as one of if not the greatest underground producer ever?Do you think this is billy woods’ best album yet?With this and ROME both being phenomenal records, is billy woods the MVP of 2017?Thanks for reading guys! And yes if you were wondering I switched from Rosebudd's Revenge to do my actual Album Of The Year Known Unknowns!

#IFTTT #reddit

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