ALBUM REVIEW: billy woods & Kenny Segal - Maps

    In recent years, few names have been as thrown around in my circle of rap as frequently as that of billy woods. It seems that, since 2019 with his first collaboration with Kenny Segal in Hiding Places that woods has become one of the more consistently acclaimed and revered artists in the rap circle, especially along the more abstract lines - since 2020's Brass with Moor Mother, woods has been on an almost unbeatable streak, only strengthened by the double whammy of last year's Aethiopes and Church. This year, however, woods reunites with Kenny Segal for what may be his most cryptic and musically dense record yet. Maps is yet another showcase of the excellence in the hip hop world this year with its fantastic production and rich lyricism and flows from woods - throw in a few excellent features, and the result is an album firing on all cylinders and at maximum power.

    One of the strongest aspects of Maps, and really most of billy woods' recent output is the immaculate production of the entire album, which certainly sits as one of the most aggressive sounding hip hop albums of the year. Much like their previous collaboration with Hiding Places, Segal is the mastermind behind the sound here, and many moments have a brilliantly off-kilter, immediately obvious from the disorienting feel of "Kenwood Speakers" that kicks off the record. Many of the following moments carry a similarly muddy style or gruff sound, with the occasional frantic sample used to much emphasis on more out there tracks like the jazz rap leanings of "Blue Smoke". It all comes together to make for a frantic and certainly satisfying release instrumentally, and one that largely adheres to its more downbeat and distorted mood - it may not be as diverse as an album like SCARING THE HOES from earlier this year, but it may be just as fascinating from a production view. There's more than just this in the album's favor - a few features join up to compliment the likes of woods and Segal, and with some great features from the likes of verses from E U L C I D to a great hook from Samuel T. Herring to a red hot verse from fellow experimental rapper Danny Brown (who is still hot off this year's most anticipated hip hop collaboration with SCARING THE HOES), it makes for a certifiably impressive expression, all wrapped up with the help of woods' rapping itself, which sits amongst some of the most technically impressive I've heard in recent time. From his vocals bordering on spoken-word combining with his smooth rhymes and rich analogies to his entertaining commentary on the highs and lows of touring, it makes for an album that's a very entertaining listen.

    It seems that hip hop has had some particularly heavy hitters this year, and Maps is almost certainly a testament to this. With the album's frantic production style serving as the perfect delivery device for the infectious flows and lyricism of billy woods, it combines together into a cohesive and certainly enjoyable concept record that has plenty to bring to the table in its no-nonsense running time - throw in a few golden features, and you have yourself one of the year's certifiably essential hip hop releases. Take some time and throw Maps on - it will be a good spend of it.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Maps.