Billy Woods - GOLLIWOG

"Golliwog," released on May 9, 2025, immediately establishes a heavy, conceptual architecture anchored by a title that evokes a doll whose presence on the cover alludes to a complex history of racial caricature. With a total running time of 52 minutes and 41 seconds spread across eighteen tracks, the work refuses any moments of solitude: each piece is punctuated by a featured artist, transforming the album into a massive vocal collage where Woods' identity sometimes gets lost in the sound of the choir.

Golliwog: The weight of a racial caricature on an 18-track album

The choice of the name "Golliwog," stylized in all caps, carries the full historical and symbolic weight of the album, serving as an iconographic anchor for a project that oscillates between pure horror and raw reality. The cover, illustrated with a doll, not only decorates the album; it defines the visual framework of a work that navigates the silences of our own time. This visual anchor contrasts with the fluidity of the collaborations that populate the tracklist, with Steel Tipped Dove, Conductor Williams, and Kenny Segal each bringing their own specific sonic texture. The reference to the golliwog, this historical figure marked by racial stereotypes, transforms the album into an object of direct confrontation, where each track becomes an act of resistance or exposure to the dangers of the modern world.

Key tracks on the album: Jumpscare, All These Worlds Are Yours, and Maquiladoras

Three tracks in particular stand out as the central sonic pillars around which the entire project revolves, defining the key moments of the listening experience. The opening track, "Jumpscare," credited to Steel Tipped Dove, immediately sets the tone of the album with a raw energy that recalls the density of past collaborations between Billy Woods and this artist on Call Me When You're Outside (2021). In contrast, "All These Worlds Are Yours," featuring the combined presence of E L U C I D, DJ Haram, and Shabaka Hutchings, offers a sound texture that rises to atmospheric heights while maintaining a solid rhythmic foundation. Finally, "Maquiladoras," with the collaboration of al.divino and Saint Abdullah, introduces a more melodic and alternative dimension that contrasts with the harder sections of the album. These three tracks not only form the foundation of the artistic approach; they also illustrate the project's ability to navigate between pure experimentation and adherence to the roots of traditional hip-hop.

The influence of Kenny Segal: a dominant signature that smooths out the contrasts of the four tracks in question

Despite this rich diversity of producers, a stylistic tension is emerging around the prominent presence of Kenny Segal. The album sometimes seems to fall into a stylistic consistency that prevents the necessary fragmentation to maintain the overall interest. Segal's dominance, while understandable given their shared history, could become a hindrance to the sonic diversity that Woods aims for. On the eighteen tracks, each is credited with a featured artist, making it impossible for a standalone lyrical voice to emerge, where Billy Woods' voice could stand alone without any external influence. This dependence on others transforms each track into a complex relationship, where the soloist cannot assert themselves without their featured artist, creating a permanent dynamic of vocal negotiation that sometimes prevents the album from defining itself. This is a bold gamble, but it leaves little room for the solitude necessary at certain moments of pure introspection. Each track thus becomes a constant exchange between multiple identities, which can sometimes obscure the central message of the project.

Tour and singles: "Misery" and "Blk Zmby" following a release at Knockdown Center

The critical reception of this album was exceptional, with high scores awarded by major media outlets such as The Line of Best Fit, The Guardian, and Beats Per Minute. The singles "Misery," released on March 12, 2025, and "Blk Zmby," released on April 11, served as a prelude to an album that coincided with a tour including a performance at the Knockdown Center. These two tracks paved the way for a disc that received universal praise, with some comparing the album to major literary works such as Fernanda Melchor's Hurricane Season. Critics praised the album's directness and lack of effort to please, while others noted the beauty of the moments interspersed within the overall darkness. This structure, which features contributions from various credited guests, transforms the album into a massive collaborative exercise, where the artist's solo identity is consistently overshadowed by a diverse sonic texture, validating an artistic strategy where solitude is never the fate of the performer. "Golliwog" occupies a unique position in Billy Woods' solo discography, coming between his previous studio album We Buy Diabetic Test Strips (2024) and his upcoming project, Mercy (2025). Although the artist had already collaborated on Maps in 2023, this album marks a return to form for the rapper as a primary performer after a period of collaborative work, confirming his status as an independent creator despite the prevalence of features. This collaborative density transforms the opus into a true encyclopedia of alternative hip-hop, where each track acts as a major crossroads between different sonic schools and generations of artists, validating Backwoodz Studioz's ambition to maintain a label as rich in external contributions. However, this ambitious scope sometimes clashes with a fragmentation that prevents the album from becoming a cohesive work. Between the diversity of voices and the potential dilution of independent lyricism, Billy Woods manages to create an album where each track tells its own story, but where the whole struggles to form a coherent narrative. It is a dissonant experience, where the beauty of the moments is diminished by the constant need to collaborate with others. Despite its structural weaknesses, the album remains an essential reference for anyone interested in the evolution of contemporary hip-hop and the limits of artistic collaboration.

Technical specifications

- Release date : May 9, 2025 - Label : Backwoodz Studioz - Tracks : 18 (52 minutes 41 seconds) - Opening / closing : Jumpscare / Dislocated - Guest artists : Steel Tipped Dove, Conductor Williams, Kenny Segal, Bruiser Wolf, SadhuGold, Preservation, The Alchemist, Despot, El-P, E L U C I D, DJ Haram, Shabaka Hutchings … - Previous album : We Buy Diabetic Test Strips (2024)