Billy Woods: Golliwog review – one of the most engrossing, unnerving records you’ll hear this year
(Backwoodz Studioz)The New York rapper confronts trauma and state-sanctioned terror with his latest release, pulling out innumerable images of inhumanityGolliwog has the ambience of a horror movie: dissonant strings, like nails on a chalkboard, form the basis of the track Star87; agonised screams are sampled throughout; every so often, an ominous drone will fill a song to the point of overwhelm. On that level alone, New York underground icon Billy Woods’ latest album would be a feat of sound design, and one of the year’s most engrossing, unnerving records. Of course, this being a Billy Woods record, that’s just scratching the surface.Golliwog’s horror aesthetics are a counterpoint to its tales of real, everyday nightmares. Through samples, guest verses and his own lyrics, Woods unearths innumerable images of inhumanity: stories of CIA torture methods, “12 billion USD hovering over the Gaza strip”, a class of professional “zombies” willing to turn a blind eye to the working class that makes luxury possible. Continue reading...
(Backwoodz Studioz)
The New York rapper confronts trauma and state-sanctioned terror with his latest release, pulling out innumerable images of inhumanity
Golliwog has the ambience of a horror movie: dissonant strings, like nails on a chalkboard, form the basis of the track Star87; agonised screams are sampled throughout; every so often, an ominous drone will fill a song to the point of overwhelm. On that level alone, New York underground icon Billy Woods’ latest album would be a feat of sound design, and one of the year’s most engrossing, unnerving records. Of course, this being a Billy Woods record, that’s just scratching the surface.
Golliwog’s horror aesthetics are a counterpoint to its tales of real, everyday nightmares. Through samples, guest verses and his own lyrics, Woods unearths innumerable images of inhumanity: stories of CIA torture methods, “12 billion USD hovering over the Gaza strip”, a class of professional “zombies” willing to turn a blind eye to the working class that makes luxury possible. Continue reading...
