Album Of The Year #9: billy woods - Known Unknowns - HipHop |
- Album Of The Year #9: billy woods - Known Unknowns
- Ski Mask the Slump God confirms Book of Eli drops in "a couple days"
- Rick Ross’ manager and right hand Black Bo dies at 56
- 21 Savage, Offset and Metro Boomin - Rap Saved Me Ft Quavo
- BLACK RAPPERS ARE GOING EXTINCT
- Lil Yachty just said on stream that Lil boat 2 with drop in january
- XXXTENTACION posts court date and location on Instagram in hopes that his fans will attend
- Ed Sheeran says he wrote Eminem's "River" back in March 2016
- N.E.R.D are back with a politically charged new album. 'It rains and they shoot black people'
- How to rap like Ski Mask the Slump God in under 5 minutes (from a very small channel)
- Daily Discussion Thread 12/09/2017
- Yelawolf and Ed Sheeran made their collab project the same day they met and they haven't seen each other since, Yelawolf doesn't really what was going on.
- [DISCUSSION] Quality Control - Control the Streets, Vol. 1 (First Impressions)
- Nas - Got Yourself A Gun
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- [DISCUSSION] Ab-Soul - Do What Thou Wilt. (One Year Later)
- Boogie Is The Next Compton Rapper To Reach For The Throne (Interview)
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- I'm finally gonna make the project I have always wanted to make for years!
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- Mac Miller on Larry King discussing GO:OD A.M., Depression and Donald Trump
- [FRESH] Bones - Resurrection
- New version of Love Galore by SZA on SNL
- [DISCUSSION] Roy Woods - Say Less (One week later)
| Album Of The Year #9: billy woods - Known Unknowns Posted: 09 Dec 2017 08:14 AM PST Artist: billy woods Album: Known Unknowns Label: Backwoodz Studioz Release Date: June 9, 2017 Listen: 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,
, 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
"Superpredator"
"Snake Oil"
"Police Came To My Show"
"Fall Back"
"Keloid" Discussion Topics
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! [link] [comments]  |
| Ski Mask the Slump God confirms Book of Eli drops in "a couple days" Posted: 09 Dec 2017 02:35 PM PST |
| Rick Ross’ manager and right hand Black Bo dies at 56 Posted: 09 Dec 2017 07:10 AM PST |
| 21 Savage, Offset and Metro Boomin - Rap Saved Me Ft Quavo Posted: 09 Dec 2017 04:04 PM PST |
| BLACK RAPPERS ARE GOING EXTINCT Posted: 09 Dec 2017 10:36 AM PST |
| Lil Yachty just said on stream that Lil boat 2 with drop in january Posted: 09 Dec 2017 03:09 PM PST |
| XXXTENTACION posts court date and location on Instagram in hopes that his fans will attend Posted: 09 Dec 2017 04:48 PM PST |
| Ed Sheeran says he wrote Eminem's "River" back in March 2016 Posted: 09 Dec 2017 05:39 PM PST |
| N.E.R.D are back with a politically charged new album. 'It rains and they shoot black people' Posted: 09 Dec 2017 05:00 AM PST |
| How to rap like Ski Mask the Slump God in under 5 minutes (from a very small channel) Posted: 09 Dec 2017 09:17 PM PST |
| Daily Discussion Thread 12/09/2017 Posted: 09 Dec 2017 03:52 PM PST Welcome to the /r/hiphopheads daily discussion thread! This thread is for:
Thread Guidelines
Other ways to interact There are a number of other ways to interact with other members of HHH:
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| Posted: 09 Dec 2017 06:41 PM PST |
| [DISCUSSION] Quality Control - Control the Streets, Vol. 1 (First Impressions) Posted: 09 Dec 2017 10:10 AM PST It's been well over 24 hours since it dropped, what does everybody think? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Dec 2017 11:19 AM PST |
| [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] Statik Selektah - 8 Posted: 09 Dec 2017 03:05 PM PST Thoughts? Personally, this is one of my favourite projects of the year. [link] [comments]  |
| [DISCUSSION] Ab-Soul - Do What Thou Wilt. (One Year Later) Posted: 09 Dec 2017 07:25 AM PST Thoughts on the project one year after its release? How has it aged? Any reveleations? [link] [comments]  |
| Boogie Is The Next Compton Rapper To Reach For The Throne (Interview) Posted: 09 Dec 2017 12:40 PM PST |
| Mango Tart Recipe: Food Makes Me Happy w/ Lil B The Based God Posted: 09 Dec 2017 04:09 PM PST |
| I'm finally gonna make the project I have always wanted to make for years! Posted: 09 Dec 2017 08:03 PM PST Hello Reddit, I have been a long time user on a separate account mostly lurking and occasionally commenting. One thing I have always loved about this community is how involved the users can be. I saw an OP make a post about bettering his life and he is going to check in a year from now to see where he is at. It inspired me to do something similar. See I'm twenty years old and live in a small town in Oregon. I have constantly moved around my whole life until this point. I have been living here for about six years now and it has been the longest and happiest move I have been a part of. That doesn't necessarily mean there has been no issues. I lived a traumatic childhood from the time I lived with my father. I've had to teach myself proper social cues and such since I was rarely around other people for a long time or couldn't maintain any connections due to constant moving. After years of therapy and self analysis I have been able to become the person I am today and find solace through making music. Even though I have somewhat resolved these issues I am still in a constant battle with depression. Fast forward to now and there is still issues. Last year i lost my aunt to cancer, I never visited because I was just so terrified to see her and when I finally got the guts to go see her, I chose to head over in the morning. I saw my grandmother and her sister crying. I walked in with my usual happy attitude and asked where my aunt is. My grandma looked at me and asked "Wait, you don't know? She just passed away." I missed her by minutes and I have been tearing myself apart for this, even as I type this I'm crying again. It showed me to never put anything off though or else an opportunity I will never have again will be lost. And I learned this bit of fortune cookie advice through the worst and hardest way possible. Later that year, this time in December, my cousin tried taking his own life. His parents were going through a nasty divorce and he couldn't take the change and the way his family seemed to break apart. I was suicidal at one point too and seeing my own flesh and blood try to do the same hurt. Knowing he felt how I felt hurt. I don't want anyone I love thinking they are better off dead. Just this year I had to watch my mother file for bankruptcy since my stepfather had to have his gal bladder removed and was simultaneously diagnosed with pneumonia for a time and diabetes. All of that could have been manageable since my mother makes pretty good money as a nurse. But the issue is that he is still an illegal immigrant from Mexico even though he has been here since he was only fourteen years old. So the bills are stupid high and my mom has been breaking her back and I had to help ease her financial issues and help pay for his pain pills and insulin. To add to the blow a high school "friend" of mine passed away late January of this year. I say "friend" because we drifted apart after high school. Now I know people always use these adjectives and descriptions for late people, but I genuinely mean it when I say she was the happiest and bubbliest person I have ever known. Nobody enjoyed life better than she did. Nobody was able to make a room bright up with ease as she did. On top of that she was one of the most beautiful girls I have ever laid eyes on. And everybody knew and loved her. But that life was taken by a patch of black ice as she was driving back from her university on her way home. She enjoyed life so much and I have been so selfish. She found jokes from the dumbest things while I have been a cynical, depressed, and angry with life. At this point I have been off Prozac for months and was failing my college classes and smoking around three grams of weed daily, I promised myself I would better myself. I promised to drop all of the bad habits that I have. I promised her I would see life though a more positive perspective. Her death got me to write a song for the first time in over six months. I have been writing ever since and I am ready to do what she once told me. To go for it and follow my dreams So I am here to tell you all that I am ready to push forward harder than ever. I am taking a year off of college since I don't know what I want for my career. But I have been taking my time to work on an EP I've been putting off for years. The genre is rap and it allows me to vent and make something that i am genuinely passionate about. I don't know which subreddit this would be most appropriate for. I don't know if it should be /r/hiphopheads or /r/GetMotivated. I am wanting to get your advice though. I am wanting to create a Youtube channel and other social media platforms but I'm not sure what video programs to use or how often I should make videos. Like if I should make vlogs or just steer clear of those due to the fact that there are so many vloggers. Reddit I am ready to take a step towards the life I have always dreamed of. And I am putting myself on blast here so I can have a community I can turn to and a community who I will have to live up to. I have a release date planned and a single ready to go. So where do I go from here? Edit: tl;dr I have been making raps for a while. But I never did anything until recent events. My aunt passed, my mother filed for bankruptcy as my stepfather was close to death, my cousin tried committing suicide, and a friend from high school passed away. She was someone who was always positive and it showed me to enjoy life and pursue this dream I've had for a while. Now I have a release date and a single ready to go. How can I better market myself? [link] [comments]  |
| [Fresh Video] SZA: The Weekend (Live) - SNL Posted: 09 Dec 2017 10:20 PM PST |
| Logic - Beggin' ft. C Dot Castro Posted: 09 Dec 2017 04:33 PM PST |
| Mac Miller on Larry King discussing GO:OD A.M., Depression and Donald Trump Posted: 09 Dec 2017 04:56 AM PST |
| Posted: 09 Dec 2017 09:53 AM PST |
| New version of Love Galore by SZA on SNL Posted: 09 Dec 2017 10:44 PM PST |
| [DISCUSSION] Roy Woods - Say Less (One week later) Posted: 09 Dec 2017 11:56 AM PST |
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