Billy Woods doesn't want the limelight. He never has. The New York-based rapper has always been tantalisingly faceless, with official images scrambled or blurred and balaclavas worn in videos and at live shows to keep an air of mystery about the straight-talking storyteller.
But that unknowability has also been coupled to relentless grind and top-tier work, making Woods a well-travelled underground rap hero. On 'Maps', he partners with producer extraordinaire Kenny Segal to lament the reality of the fruits of his labour, from crappy weed to missed connections in a captivating yarn for the modern globetrotter.
The first of those gripes comes to the fore on Soundcheck. Jaded by the practicalities of touring, he advises promoters that "I will not be at soundcheck, not on your life", instead opting to "watch the sunset over your city from a parapet or a park bench".
Its sense of romance catches you off guard and reveals a man who wants to see the world rather than just travel it. That feeling is there throughout. FaceTime has Woods shunning swanky parties in favour of a phone call back home or "Watching unbroken wild ponies run wild at sundown / Only the lonely, big tree like a sundial".
NYC Tapwater is his unannounced return home for some downtime with his cat "purring loud on my lap" and As The Crow Flies is a wistful piece about taking his kid to the park and hoping he'll get to continue seeing him grow. It makes 'Maps' human and effortlessly puts the everyman listener in Woods' shoes.
But this isn't just Woods' endeavour, with Segal rightfully receiving co-headline billing on 'Maps'. His jazz fusion beats hop around restlessly, seeking out new surprising avenues for Woods to wander in a daze. The pair play off of each other in awkward harmony—odd time signatures and monologues become perfect bedfellows when thet might feel challenging separately.
From the fidgeting arrogance of Year Zero (which features a show-stealing turn from Danny Brown) to the yawning chasm of squelching bass that makes up the sublime Hangman, Segal's repertoire is limitless, and Woods rises to meet him at every junction. He doesn't want the limelight, but with 'Maps', he's made a rod for his own back with one of the most accomplished and enthralling hip hop records of the year so far. At least he seems prepared for whatever the world throws back at him.
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