billy woods Unveils Golliwog: New Single “Misery” Drops
The underground luminary returns with ‘Misery’—a haunting, Kenny Segal-produced preview—setting the stage for his 18-track album Golliwog, arriving May 9.
Golliwog is a sprawling, cinematic project that sees billy woods digging into his personal mythos while simultaneously curating an expansive soundscape with an all-star production lineup. Releasing on May 9th, the album’s title is a playful, self-referential nod to a story woods penned at age nine—a tale of an “evil golliwog” that his mother dismissed as derivative. That early dismissal now becomes an allegory for transformation and creative reinvention, as woods retools a childhood scribble into a dark, layered narrative infused with horror, humor, surrealism, and Afropessimism.
Musically, the album thrives on its diverse production roster. Familiar collaborators like Kenny Segal anchor the record with tracks such as “Misery,” “Pitchforks & Halos,” and “Born Alone,” while heavy hitters like The Alchemist and El-P lend a gritty, foreboding texture on “Counterclockwise” and “Corinthians” respectively. Other producers—from Shabaka Hutchings with live, jazz-inflected elements on “All These Worlds Are Yours” to the inventive contributions of Conductor Williams, Preservation, Sadhugold, and even Human Error Club—ensure that each track is a distinct sonic journey, yet they all coexist within a cohesive, almost cinematic framework. This production diversity not only pays homage to traditional hip-hop sensibilities but also pushes woods’ sound into forward-thinking territory, reinforcing his place as one of underground hip-hop’s most innovative voices.
In context, Golliwog arrives as woods’ first solo outing in two years, following the reflective travelogue Maps (with Kenny Segal) and the boundary-pushing We Buy Diabetic Test Strips with Armand Hammer. While Maps captured the intimate nuances of life on the road, Golliwog expands those introspections into a broader, mythic narrative—one where personal history and socio-political commentary intertwine against a backdrop of cinematic production.
Tracklist:
Jumpscare (feat. Steel Tipped Dove)
STAR87 (feat. Conductor Williams)
Misery (feat. Kenny Segal)
BLK XMAS (feat. Bruiser Wolf and Sadhugold)
Waterproof Mascara (feat. Preservation)
Counterclockwise (feat. The Alchemist)
Corinthians (feat. Despot and El-P)
Pitchforks & Halos (feat. Kenny Segal)
All These Worlds Are Yours (feat. ELUCID, DJ Haram and Shabaka Hutchings)
Maquiladoras (feat. al.divino and Saint Abdullah)
A Doll Fulla Pins (feat. Yolanda Watson and Jeff Markey)
Golgotha (feat. Messiah Musik)
Cold Sweat (feat. Ant)
BLK ZMBY (feat. Steel Tipped Dove)
Make No Mistake (feat. Messiah Musik)
Born Alone (feat. Kenny Segal)
Lead Paint Test (feat. ELUCID, Cavalier and Willie Green)
Dislocated (feat. ELUCID and Human Error Club)