Billy Woods Releases Messiah Musik Collab, CHURCH w/”Pollo Rico” Video & Aethiopes Vinyl Drop
On an already overwhelming release day, the New York emcee/label owner throws his hat in the ring with a pair of noteworthy vinyl releases
New York emcee, Billy Woods has been grinding for decades, releasing his first album on his own Backwoodz Studioz label back in 2003. Honing his skills over the last 20 years, while releasing material for a select group of like-minded artists, Woods is an underground force that has continued to produce such a backlog of deep, quality material that it can make your head spin when you first begin to uncover it all. These releases may not have been selling millions, but they have been consistently hitting unsuspecting new listeners in the chest like they were packaged by Ted Kaczynski. One strength that the rapper/label owner has exhibited is a level of versatility punctuated by his eagerness to merge styles with different collaborators. I first came across Billy‘s name through Blockhead‘s now-defunct personal blog, because the beatmaking legend had been producing a lot for him, at the time, and even began releasing his own albums through Backwoodz. That said, it wasn’t until the 2019 Kenny Segal-produced Hiding Places that I — and endless others — fully woke up to what he was capable of. Almost simultaneously, I stumbled into his work with Elucid as the rap duo Amand Hammer. I loved their material equally and, after The Alchemist worked with them on their critically acclaimed Haram LP last year, it elevated the members to a new level of public awareness. As prolific as ever, 2021 also saw Woods teaming with Philadelphia poet/musician/activist, Moor Mother for the remarkable joint album Brass. And now, just this morning, Backwoodz announced the vinyl release for two more Billy Woodz albums. On a day packed with so many highly anticipated new drops in the hip-hop world, it can be difficult to cut through all of the hype, but both of these new releases are so good, they have effortlessly commandeered my full attention.
In April, another impressive solo album appeared, this time handled entirely by veteran producer Preservation, known for his work with artists like Yasiin Bey, Mach-Hommy, and Ka. Aethiopes gained immediate priase and is expected to appear on several Album Of The Year lists, but there had been no vinyl release for the LP until it only recently began popping up at tour dates. Those of us who collect Billy Woods records understand that patience is a virtue — his out-of-print titles have been very gradually been receiving deluxe reissues — but, after Armand Hammer offered their now sold-out limited edition 12-inch of unreleased material, WHT LBL, as a tour exclusive, it’s easy to get nervous. This morning, Backwoods not only officially announced the Aethiopes vinyl drop, but a preorder for an entirely different album produced by long-time Armand Hammer collaborator, Messiah Musik.
When we caught Armand Hammer at Pickathon Music Festival last month, one of their 3 sets suffered from a communication error where the festival believed it was supposed to be a DJ set and, consequently, didn’t have the proper setup arrange for them to do what they needed to. In the midst of trying to get everything figured out, Woods decided to play an unreleasd solo album for us in its entirety. From what I can recall, I now believe that we were likely treated to CHURCH, the same full-length that was just dropped this morning. With only a brief sampling of this thing, it already sounds like another winner and even features the tremendous WHT LBL track, “Artichoke.” For anyone that’s interested in pre-ordering it, with or without Aethiopes, the Backwoodz site is offering a limited edition green vinyl pressing of CHURCH with alternate Alexander Ricther artwork, rolling papers, and an exclusive 7×7-inch lyric booklet. This is in addition to the standard black vinyl, which Bandcamp lists as an edition of 2,500.
The press release for CHURCH describes the album as follows:
“The album is a tightly wound exploration of memory and faith, marijuana and fate, the price of love and the cost of doing business. Equal parts memoir and sativa-tinged fever dream, Church moves from Jamaica, Queens to Trelawny, Jamaica, Chernobyl to Morningside Heights without missing a beat. Guests include ELUCID (Armand Hammer), AKAI SOLO, Fat Ray (Bruiser Brigade), and Fielded. As we stand now in the twilight of prohibition, Church is a dedication to those who thrived, died, or barely survived under its long shadow—an ode to a city that is long gone and to old friends whose real names we never knew.”
As I mentioned earlier, today is already overflowing with new hip-hop releases. Among these drops is the Rome Streetz Griselda debut, Kiss The Ring; the brand new Freddie Gibbs album, $oul $old $eparately; a physical drop for the Pink Siifu x Real Bad Man collab, Real Bad Flights; the extended edition of Denzel Curry‘s Melt My Eyez See Your Future; a Boldy James x Nicholas Craven collab; and even a posthumous new LP from late golden-era pioneer/Mobb Deep founder, Prodigy. The Backwoodz email that went out today acknowledges this, by stating, “We know it’s already a pretty impressive release day, in what has already been a pretty impressive year for hip-hop, but here we are tossing our hat in the ring.” It further explains the decision of today’s “double header” when referring to Aethiopes by stating, “We didn’t put it up for pre-order in April because we weren’t sure how long we would have to wait for the vinyl, and in retrospect it feels good that it worked out this way.”
As for CHURCH, you can dip your toes into the new release by checking out the video for the song “Pollo Rico.” Directed by Joseph Mault, it begins with Armand Hammer coasting in a boast while backdropped by a tranquil dusk skyline, before dabbling in a version of light ruin porn, as Billy steps through what appears to either be a vandalized mansion or outdated hotel-turned squatters paradise, complete with broken glass, graffiti and busted up furniture. Visually dynamic, the video makes a sharp cut to the emcee out in nature surrounded by bamboo, before taking a slightly darker direction by focusing on a young wolf in the woods at nightfall, suggesting a vaguely ominous vibe somewhat reminiscent of right before the shit goes down in the Nic Cage film, Mandy.
Check out below “Pollo Rico” below.