Billy Woods, one of the most talented rappers to gain recognition in the 2020s, has a new album that is his most personal piece yet.
That album, Golliwog, was inspired by a short story Woods wrote as a child about an evil golliwog, a doll-like character that was a racist caricature of Black people.
Golliwog sounds like an abandoned and decrepit amusement park filled with horrors instead of attractions, with a level of grimy and chilling beats.
The album features an all-star producer lineup, with beats from popular producers like The Alchemist and Conductor Williams. Woods brings back classic collaborations from BackWoodzStudioz, like Kenny Segal, DJ Haram, Preservation, and Steel Tipped Dove.
Woods and Segal flaunt their elite chemistry with Segal producing beats that Woods flows through aimlessly. On the track “Pitchforks and Halos,” Segal methodically builds the beat through rough and distorted samples, and yet Woods flows through the beat without any real struggle.
Golliwog is definitely Woods’ best-produced album, with samples, beats, and choruses that are simply out of this world.
On the track “A Doll Fulla Pins,” singer Yolanda Watson drops one of the most beautiful hooks to ever grace Woods’ catalog, alongside the solemn and flawless beat provided by Jeff Markley and MessiahMusik.
