{"product_id":"billy-woods-golliwog","title":"Billy Woods - Golliwog","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eAlbum of the Week: billy woods – GOLLIWOG (Staff Review)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eGOLLIWOG\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e is the latest album from billy woods, the New York-based rapper known for \u003cem\u003eAethiopes\u003c\/em\u003e (2022), \u003cem\u003eHiding Places\u003c\/em\u003e (2019), and \u003cem\u003eMaps \u003c\/em\u003e(2023), the latter two in collaboration with producer Kenny Segal. He’s also one half of Armand Hammer, the duo with Elucid responsible for 2023’s excellent \u003cem\u003eWe Buy Diabetic Test Strips\u003c\/em\u003e. With \u003cem\u003eGOLLIWOG\u003c\/em\u003e, woods delivers another masterpiece and further proof that he is one of the most singular, uncompromising forces in 21st-century hip hop.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003ewoods’ music operates in an emotionally charged register, with a rawness and realism that transcends genre. \u003cem\u003eGOLLIWOG\u003c\/em\u003e is immersive and unrelenting, painting vivid cityscapes and psychological terrains through impressionistic sampling and impressive lyrical storytelling. While it draws from jazz-rap, horrorcore, and experimental abstract hip hop \u003cem\u003eGOLLIWOG\u003c\/em\u003e ultimately defies categorisation. If anything, woods seems to be carving a space we might reluctantly call post-hip hop, a fluid, expressionistic, genre-dismantling approach to rap as literary and sonic art.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eLike much of woods’ discography, \u003cem\u003eGOLLIWOG\u003c\/em\u003e feels like art in constant motion. He remains uncompromising, and his darkest, most noir moments land with palpable impact. On \u003cem\u003eWaterproof Mascara\u003c\/em\u003e, a chilling sample of a sobbing woman and faint, mournful instrumentation underpin a narrative that’s almost too real to bear. \u003cem\u003eCounterclockwise\u003c\/em\u003e, built on an ingenious pitch-shifted sample from obscure New Zealand prog band Airlord, is another standout, its emotional weight echoing woods’ storytelling.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eThe production is stellar throughout with Segal, The Alchemist, Messiah Musik, and others contributing richly textured beats and field recordings, news clips, ambient street sounds, that deepen the album’s tangible dystopian atmosphere. One of the album’s immediate highlights is\u003cem\u003e Corinthians\u003c\/em\u003e, produced by El-P (Run The Jewels) and featuring a guest verse from Despot. The track radiates a tension and unease that is indicative of the album as a whole. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eThe sequence of \u003cem\u003eMaquiladoras\u003c\/em\u003e into \u003cem\u003eA Doll Fulla Pins\u003c\/em\u003e is another standout. The former offers unflinching, conversational lyricism over static and harsh sonic textures, before dissolving into a soulful jazz coda that interpolates the R\u0026amp;B classic \u003cem\u003eTime Is On My Side\u003c\/em\u003e. That leads directly into the haunting \u003cem\u003eA Doll Fulla Pins\u003c\/em\u003e, a smoky, midnight jazz composition with a mournful refrain by Yolanda Watson, whose vocals grow in intensity alongside the gradually swelling arrangement.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eInstrumentally, \u003cem\u003eGOLLIWOG\u003c\/em\u003e is consistently fascinating and eclectic, veering between stark minimalism and lush, brooding jazz-inflected compositions. woods’ stream-of-consciousness delivery moves seamlessly between abstraction and brutal realism, landing frequently on hard-edged, direct statements. His storytelling is as incisive as ever, confronting systemic violence, political decay and corruption, and existential despair with incredible sincerity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\"\u003eGOLLIWOG\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\"\u003e is deflating in its truths, but breathtaking in its execution of an artistic vision, an album that holds a mirror to the bleaker than bleak realities of today. With \u003cem\u003eGOLLIWOG\u003c\/em\u003e woods presents a visionary work that is uncompromising, prescient, poetic, and utterly essential\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"RHYMESAYERS ENTERTAINMENT","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":53205865922887,"sku":"TRI-61252","price":49.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53205866021191,"sku":"TRI-61253","price":16.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0931\/9779\/5655\/files\/76716f98dff342559e3629c93ebc9d5c.png?v=1769363880","url":"https:\/\/towerrecords.ie\/products\/billy-woods-golliwog","provider":"Tower Records Dublin Ireland","version":"1.0","type":"link"}