Billy Woods’ latest studio album, Aethiopes, may just be the legendary MCs most daring project yet. Through 13 gruesome tracks, the New York rapper puts together a dark body of work that covers such ideas as the destruction of culture and the exploration of societal racial ideologies. Billy’s grim vocals accompanied the haunting soundscape from DJ Reservation, culminate in creating an aura that will invade the listener’s soul. Woods’ intense writing will challenge you repeatedly to think through various conflicts and ideas that he presents, and many of the subjects he focuses go much beyond the surface despite them already holding loads of depth at face value. Each bar Woods crafts is perfected to the max, and this is reflected throughout the 39-minute experience. Adding to this album, the LP is one of the most star-studded records Billy has ever made, with features from El-P, Boldy James, and Quelle Chris, adding loads of support to the record’s subject matter. Overall, Aethiopes is another gem in Billy Woods’s catalog, and this project only further solidifies his case as one of the greatest to ever do it.
Rating: 8.8/10
Tracklist Ranked:
- Remorseless
- No Hard Feelings
- Sauvage
- Smith + Cross
- The Doldrums
- Haarlem
- Christine
- Heavy Water
- NYNEX
- Wharves
- Versailles
- Protovangelium
- Asylum
