Billy Woods

Billy Woods (born c. 1977–1979;^[1][2] stylized in all lowercase) is an American rapper based in New York.^[3] He is also the founder of the record label Backwoodz Studioz.^[4] Woods has been a member of Armand Hammer,^[5] Super Chron Flight Brothers,^[6] and The Reavers.^[7]

Billy Woods was born in Washington, D.C.^[8] His mother was an English literature professor from Jamaica.^[5] His father was a PhD Marxist writer, active in the Zimbabwe War of Liberation and then member of the government in Zimbabwe.^[9] In 1980, the family moved to Zimbabwe.^[10] Following his father's death,^[8] the family returned to the United States, moving to Washington D.C. in 1989.^[2][10] Woods briefly attended Howard University before getting involved in New York's hip hop scene.^[8] He started making music in the late 1990s,^[11] writing his "first real rhyme" at a laundromat in Kennebunk, Maine in 1997.^[10]

Woods founded the Backwoodz Studioz label inspired by the success of independent releases The Cold Vein and Operation: Doomsday.^[12]

Billy Woods founded the record label Backwoodz Studioz in 2003, and released his debut album, Camouflage, through Backwoodz that same year.^[8][12] In the early years of his career, he was a protégé of Cannibal Ox's Vordul Mega.^[13] Throughout the 2000s, the majority of Woods' output was released through the duo Super Chron Flight Brothers, which comprised him and fellow rapper Priviledge. Woods describes his work with Super Chron Flight brothers as emphasizing "the comedy and tragedy angle".^[9] By the early 2010s, Super Chron Flight Brothers had split up,^[9] and Backwoodz Studioz had been largely unable to make a profit.^[12] Woods subsequently decided to complete another solo album, 2012's History Will Absolve Me;^[14][15] Woods intended for it to be his final release before leaving the music industry.^[9][16] History Will Absolve Me proved more successful than Woods anticipated, revitalizing Woods' career and attaining a reputation as a cult classic of underground hip hop.^[16]

In 2013, Woods released Dour Candy, which was entirely produced by Blockhead.^[17][18] In 2017, he released Known Unknowns.^[19] It was included on Rolling Stone's "15 Great Albums You Probably Didn't Hear in 2017" list.^[20] In 2019, he released a collaborative album with producer Kenny Segal, titled Hiding Places,^[21] as well as a solo album, Terror Management.^[22] 2020 brought Brass, a collaborative album with Moor Mother. Woods released Aethiopes and Church in 2022. On 27 March 2023, Woods announced his second collaboration with the producer Kenny Segal titled Maps. The album was released on 5 May 2023. It was preceded by two singles, "Facetime", which was released on 12 April 2023 and featured the Baltimore singer Samuel T. Herring,^[23] and "Soft Landing", which was released 3 May 2023.

Media has noted that Woods has his face obscured in publicity photos.^[24][25]