Billy Woods

Billy Woods was born in Washington, D.C. His mother was an English literature professor from Jamaica, and his father was a Marxist intellectual from Zimbabwe; the two met while Woods' father was pursuing a Ph.D. in the United States.{{cite web|url=https://nerdtorious.com/2013/01/09/time-goes-by-interview-with-billy-woods/|title=Time Goes By: Interview with Billy Woods|work=Nerdtorious|first=Dean Van|last=Nguyen|date=January 9, 2013|access-date=September 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926100652/https://nerdtorious.com/2013/01/09/time-goes-by-interview-with-billy-woods/|archive-date=September 26, 2019|url-status=live}} During the Zimbabwe War of Independence, Woods' father lived in "political exile", but in 1980 the family moved to Zimbabwe and Woods' father entered the Zimbabwean government.{{Cite web |last=LeJarde |first=Arielle Lana |date=2022-11-22 |title=billy woods would rather you be a little uncomfortable |url=https://www.bkmag.com/2022/11/22/billy-woods/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=BKMAG}} Later in the 1980s, Woods' father died. Around a year and a half later, in 1989, Woods and his mother returned to the United States and moved to Washington D.C. Woods briefly attended Howard University before getting involved in New York's hip-hop scene. He started making music in the late 1990s,{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/billy-woods-and-blockheads-collaborative-album-dour-candy-is-an-invigorating-hangover/|title=Billy Woods and Blockhead's Collaborative Album, 'Dour Candy,' is an Invigorating Hangover|work=Noisey|first=Zachary|last=Lipez|date=June 28, 2013|access-date=December 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230233304/https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/r7w7ar/billy-woods-and-blockheads-collaborative-album-dour-candy-is-an-invigorating-hangover|archive-date=December 30, 2018|url-status=live}} writing his "first real rhyme" at a laundromat in Kennebunk, Maine in 1997.{{cite web|url=https://www.passionweiss.com/2018/11/15/billy-woods-interview-2018/|title=Hope in a Hopeless Situation: An Interview With Billy Woods|work=Passion of the Weiss|first=Joel|last=Biswas|date=November 15, 2018|access-date=September 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925093645/https://www.passionweiss.com/2018/11/15/billy-woods-interview-2018/|archive-date=September 25, 2019|url-status=live}}

"Billy Woods" is a pseudonym; he has not revealed his birth name.{{Cite web |last=Terich |first=Jeff |date=2022-04-10 |title=billy woods : Aethiopes {{!}} Album review |url=https://www.treblezine.com/billy-woods-aethiopes-review/ |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=Treble |language=en-US}} In an interview with Jacobin, Woods explained that his pursuit of anonymity was rooted in several reasons, including his desires to remain a private individual and to avoid being associated with his family name.{{Cite web|url=https://jacobin.com/2025/02/billy-woods-rap-zimbabwe-colonialism |title=billy woods: "My Music Is Radical, in Its Own Way" |first=Armen |last=Aramyan |website=Jacobin |date=February 16, 2025 |access-date=February 27, 2025}}

Woods founded the record label Backwoodz Studioz in 2003, inspired by the success of independent releases The Cold Vein and Operation: Doomsday, and released his debut album Camouflage through Backwoodz that same year.{{cite web|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/05/31/billy-woods-is-the-underground-rapper-checkov-would-listen-to/|title=Billy Woods Is The Underground Rapper Chekhov Would Listen To|work=The Village Voice|first=Phillip|last=Mlynar|date=May 31, 2017|access-date=December 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230233339/https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/05/31/billy-woods-is-the-underground-rapper-checkov-would-listen-to/|archive-date=December 30, 2018|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/billy-woods-kenny-segal-new-album-interview-1234728051/ |first=Anthony |last=Malone |title=Underground Rap Hero Billy Woods on Coming Full Circle |publisher=Rolling Stone |date=May 3, 2023 |access-date=May 8, 2023}} In the early years of his career, he was a protégé of Cannibal Ox's Vordul Mega.{{Cite web|first=Mosi |last=Reeves |title=billy woods' 'Maps' is the Kind of Album That's Designed to Get You Lost |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/billy-woods-maps-1234729288/ |publisher=Rolling Stone |date=May 4, 2023 |access-date=April 26, 2024}} 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;{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/billy_woods-history_will_absolve_me|title=Billy Woods: History Will Absolve Me|work=Exclaim!|first=Mark|last=Bozzer|date=April 10, 2012|access-date=December 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230233534/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/billy_woods-history_will_absolve_me|archive-date=December 30, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://potholesinmyblog.com/billy-woods-history-will-absolve-me/|title=Billy Woods – History Will Absolve Me|work=Potholes in My Blog|first=Francisco|last=McCurry|date=May 8, 2012|access-date=December 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230181502/http://potholesinmyblog.com/billy-woods-history-will-absolve-me/|archive-date=December 30, 2018|url-status=live}} Woods intended for it to be his final release before leaving the music industry.{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/billy-woods-preservation-aethiopes/ |first=Dean |last=Van Nguyen |title=billy woods: Aethiopes Album Review |publisher=Pitchfork Media |date=April 11, 2022 |access-date=May 8, 2023}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4146753-champion-sound-14--ka-starlito-billy-woods|title=Champion Sound #14: Ka, Starlito, Billy Woods|work=Drowned in Sound|first=Kyle|last=Ellison|date=August 21, 2013|access-date=December 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711021857/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4146753-champion-sound-14--ka-starlito-billy-woods|archive-date=July 11, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18405-billy-woods-dour-candy/|title=Billy Woods: Dour Candy|work=Pitchfork|first=Nate|last=Patrin|date=August 14, 2013|access-date=December 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411162036/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18405-billy-woods-dour-candy/|archive-date=April 11, 2019|url-status=live}} In 2017, he released Known Unknowns.{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/billy-woods-is-at-the-forefront-of-raps-avant-garde/|title=billy woods Is at the Forefront of Rap's Avant-Garde|work=Noisey|first=Paul|last=Thompson|date=October 6, 2017|access-date=December 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230181337/https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/zm3yp5/billy-woods-is-at-the-forefront-of-raps-avant-garde|archive-date=December 30, 2018|url-status=live}} It was included on Rolling Stone{{'}}s "15 Great Albums You Probably Didn't Hear in 2017" list.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/15-great-albums-you-probably-didnt-hear-in-2017-123821/billy-woods-known-unknowns-125570/|title=15 Great Albums You Probably Didn't Hear in 2017: Billy Woods, 'Known Unknowns'|magazine=Rolling Stone|first=Mosi|last=Reeves|date=December 19, 2017|access-date=December 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711021925/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/15-great-albums-you-probably-didnt-hear-in-2017-123821/billy-woods-known-unknowns-125570/|archive-date=July 11, 2018|url-status=live}} In 2019, he released a collaborative album with producer Kenny Segal, titled Hiding Places,{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2037665/billy-woods-kenny-segal-hiding-places/music/album-stream/|title=Stream billy woods & Kenny Segal's New Album Hiding Places|work=Stereogum|first=Tom|last=Breihan|date=March 29, 2019|access-date=April 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407151254/https://www.stereogum.com/2037665/billy-woods-kenny-segal-hiding-places/music/album-stream/|archive-date=April 7, 2019|url-status=live}} as well as a solo album, Terror Management.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778228299/9-rap-albums-as-dark-and-dystopian-as-2019|title=9 Afro Dystopian Rap Albums As Dark And Droll As 2019|work=NPR|first=Rodney|last=Carmichael|date=December 11, 2019|access-date=March 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320113533/https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778228299/9-rap-albums-as-dark-and-dystopian-as-2019|archive-date=March 20, 2020|url-status=live}} 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,{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2218149/billy-woods-kenny-segal-announce-new-collaborative-album-maps/news/|title=billy woods & Kenny Segal Announce New Collaborative Album Maps|work=Stereogum|first=Tom|last=Breihan|date=27 March 2023}} and "Soft Landing", which was released 3 May 2023.

In 2023, Woods published a children's book titled A is for Anarchist.{{cite web|last=Heller|first=Steven|title=The Daily Heller: D is for Depression|date=April 26, 2023|website=Print Magazine|url=https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/the-daily-heller-an-underground-abc/}}

Woods consistently obscures his face in publicity photos.{{cite news |last1=Chick |first1=Stevie |title=David Attenborough, weed and ‘American apartheid’: the awesome mind of rapper Billy Woods |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/may/08/david-attenborough-weed-and-american-apartheid-the-awesome-mind-of-rapper-billy-woods |access-date=27 December 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=8 May 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Reeves |first1=Mosi |title=billy woods' 'Maps' is the Kind of Album That's Designed to Get You Lost |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/billy-woods-maps-1234729288/ |access-date=27 December 2023 |work=Rolling Stone |date=4 May 2023}}

• Camouflage (2003)
• The Chalice (2004)
• History Will Absolve Me (2012)
• Dour Candy (2013)
• Today, I Wrote Nothing (2015)
• Known Unknowns (2017)
• Terror Management (2019)
• Aethiopes (2022){{Cite web |date=11 March 2022 |title=BILLY WOODS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE |url=https://mailchi.mp/backwoodzstudioz/billy-woods-hwam-aethiopes |access-date=12 March 2022 |website=Backwoodz Studioz}}
• Golliwog (2025)

• Terror Firma (2005)

• Emergency Powers: The World Tour (2007)
• Indonesia (2009)
• Cape Verde (2010)

{{See also|Armand Hammer (music group)#Discography|l1=Armand Hammer discography}}

• Race Music (2013)
• Rome (2017)
• Paraffin (2018)
• Shrines (2020)
• Haram (2021) (with The Alchemist)
• We Buy Diabetic Test Strips (2023)

• Hiding Places (2019)
• Maps (2023)

• Church (2022)

• Brass (2020){{Cite web|date=2020-12-11|title=BRASS from Moor Mother & billy woods|url=https://backwoodzstudioz.com/brass-from-moor-mother-and-billy-woods/|access-date=2020-12-22|website=Backwoodz Studioz|language=en-US}}

• Cowardly Threats & Hideous Cruelty (2011)

• New York Times (2006) {{small|(The Reavers)}}
• Deleted Scenes (2009) {{small|(Super Chron Flight Brothers)}}

• "Slums / America / Dusted" (2005) {{small|(The Reavers)}}
• "Shadows" (2006) {{small|(The Reavers)}}
• "Dirtweed" (2007) {{small|(Super Chron Flight Brothers)}}
• "Facetime" (2023) {{small|(with Kenny Segal, feat. Samuel T. Herring)}}
• "Misery" (2025) {{Small|(feat. Kenny Segal)}}
• "BLK ZMBY" (2025)
• "Lead Paint Test" (2025) {{Small|(feat. E L U C I D and Cavalier)}}

• 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){{cite web|url=https://www.thefader.com/2021/11/15/your-old-droog-meteor-man-lil-ugly-mane-and-billy-woods|title=Your Old Droog announces new album, shares "Meteor Man" featuring Lil Ugly Mane and billy woods|website=The FADER|date=15 November 2021}}
• 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)
• Doseone - "Wasteland Embrace"{{Cite web|url=https://tidal.com/album/406671091|title=Doseone, Steel Tipped Dove & Billy Woods - Wasteland Embrace|date=January 10, 2025|access-date=June 8, 2025|website=Tidal.com}} from All Portrait, No Chorus (2025)

• {{cite book|last1=Woods|first1=Billy|last2=Musgrove|first2=M.|title=A is for Anarchist|year=2023|publisher=Rizzoli Universe|location=New York|isbn=978-0-7893-4145-7}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://backwoodzstudioz.com BackwoodzStudioz.com]
• {{Discogs artist|Billy Woods|Billy Woods}}
• [https://www.youtube.com/@billywoods_backwoodz Billy Woods on Youtube]

{{Armand Hammer}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Billy}}

Category:1970s births

Category:Living people

Category:American rappers of Jamaican descent

Category:American musicians of Zimbabwean descent

Category:American male rappers

Category:Rappers from New York City

Category:Underground rappers

Category:Indie rappers

Category:21st-century American rappers

Category:21st-century American male musicians

Category:Unidentified musicians

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)