NYC rapper and perennial BPM favourite billy woods has announced a new album called GOLLIWOG, due out on 9 May through Backwoodz Studioz.
As woods explains: “When I was nine years old I wrote a story about an evil golliwog. My mother read it and told me it was overly derivative and needed some work. Here we are.”
The album features production from The Alchemist EL-P, Conductor Williams, Preservation, Messiah Musik, Sadhugold, Ant (Atmosphere), Shabaka Hutchings, Steel Tipped Dove, DJ Haram, Willie Green, Jeff Markey, Saint Abdullah, and LA-based experimental jazz trio Human Error Club.
However, the first track to be shared from it, “Misery” finds him pairing with longtime partner in crime Kenny Segal, who lays on an array of smeared brass and jazz drums to accompany woods’ tale of a philanderous woman who “has a lover and a husband” and also “a summons for sex in public”. He’s not admonishing her though, but dreaming about her and all the vivid sexual acts they get up to – ultimately describing how she leaves “Ragged holes in my throat / but I love to see those lips shiny with blood (I’m her number one fan)” – “Number one fan like misery, and misery love company”, he explains.
Listen to “Misery” below or find it on your preferred streamer.
billy woods’ new album GOLLIWOG is out 9 May through Backwoodz Studioz (pre-order/save).
He’s got these live dates ahead:
3/14 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/15 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
4/3 – Edinburgh, UK @ La Belle Angele
4/5 – The Hague, NL @ Rewire Festival
5/3 – Vienna, AT @ Donau Fest
5/28 – Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5
5/29 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
5/31 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
6/1 – San Francisco, CA @ Neck Of The Woods
6/2 – Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s
6/3 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
6/5 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre
6/6 – Austin, TX @ The Ballroom
6/7 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
6/25 – Asheville, NC @ Eulogy
6/27 – Orlando, FL @ The Abbey
6/28 – Tampa, FL @ The Crowbar
6/29 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man
9/16 – Easthampton, MA @ Daily Op
9/17 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
9/18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
9/19 – Washington DC @ Union Stage
9/25 – NYC, NY @ Knockdown Center
10/3 – Dublin, IE @ Opium
10/4 – Glasgow, UK @ St. Luke’s
10/6 – Leeds, UK @ Belgrave Music Hall
10/7 – Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew
10/8 – Cardiff, UK @ The Globe
10/9 – London, UK @ Scala
10/14 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique
11/9 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
11/11 – Detroit, MI @ The Loving Touch
11/13 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
11/14 – Madison, WI @ High Noon
11/15 – Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium
11/17 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
