BILLY WOODS: The Chalice

billy woods

The Chalice

© 2004 backwoodz studioz (747014483428)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

(About MP3 downloads at CD Baby)

Chainsaw lyrics and laser-guided production aimed at the system and your favorite rappers noggin. With appearances by Cannibal Ox, Karneige (Def Jux), Monsta Island Czars and backwoodz extended fam.

tracks

1 Killtro/ Go-go Dub Plate
2 Mindcontrol F/ Vordul
3 Capture the Flagg
4 High Treason
5 Bbc F/ Thrill Gates
6 Blowout F/ Priviledge
7 Damage
8 Drinks F/ Vast Aire & Karneige
9 Sativa Stillife F/ Stretch Nyce
10 Gourmet
11 Wake Up Call (interlude) F/ William Bodega
12 Get Out the Kitchen F/ Priviledge
13 Cjs
14 Pit & the Pendulum F/ Vordul
15 Cross My Heart F/ Kong
16 Maryland (interlude)
17 Holidaze
18 Magic F/ Taiwo
19 Last Mcs F/ Vordul & Taiwo
20 Shinin'
21 Vacationland F/ Thrill Gates

notes

backwoodz studioz is kicking the door off the hinges in '04 with a new release from billy woods featuring Cannibal Ox, Kong of Monsta Island Czars, Karneige (Defnitive Jux), Thrill Gates plus Priviledge and Stretch Nyce of Rec Circle.The Chalice is a follow up to backwoodz studioz's 2003 concept album, Camouflage which paired Can-Ox's Vordul Mega and billy woods. This album is a step forward as woods and co. throw down for 21 tracks of rugged rhymes and insightful lyricism. In-house producers 007, Aerotaxi and Casino Earl craft a landscape of sounds with help from No-Cal's DJ Marmaduke and North Carolina's Dan Datiles of Brutha Monk. It's an election year and backwoodz studioz aint leaving no hanging chads, sic semper tyrannis moth#$%@!&rs.


INDEPENDENT REVIEW from URBANSMARTS.COM
There's real hunger on this album. Shameless simplicity and bareness. A brashness. A commanding silent anger. Everything that's said is a speech. A call to arms. An impatience imposed by the empty stomach of the have nots. A report on the political uphill battle. The hand of short straws. Frustration. Despair. Powerless. Quiet weaponry in a loud, flashy and glistening war.
What used to be a mixtape/work in progress sound, has now been fully perfected and adopted, in all its imperfect rough-around-the-edges growing appearance (listen to "Shinin"). What Billy Woods and comrades put on this record is sounding like a minimized version of a groundbreaking artist. It offers the promises of something soon to be very big. Soon to be the hype of the moment. Soon to be the hushed secret tip one true head gives to the next.
And not necessarily because Billy Woods is the best rapper. He wouldn't (and shouldn't) demand such a position for himself. But because he is an honest rapper. And he's the student of a Vordul (who's on "Mind Control" and "Last MC's") that is now pushing his professor forward to not lag behind. They are bizarro twins: related but different. Both good, both esoteric. Both at times complicated to follow, both with a lit fuse nearing the body that will explode.
And much more political: so says Billy "if I'd have a hammer, you'd be with Assata in Havana" and "[the] only video I got out is on surveillance cameras". Both on "High Treason". The song after "Capture The Flagg", a storm up the hill, in a misleading friendly beat. And speaking of beats, "BBC" and especially "Blowout" are surprisingly uplifting with less grit. The variation of music can go from the spacey funk of "Gourmet", to the creativity of "Damage" or the resemblance to old RZA material on "Sativa / Stilllife", a collaboration with Stretch Nyce.
And as political the vast majority is on here is, as much angst carries every song, with "CJ's" we raise a glass, almost content. While so much is just straight talk, some is detoured flowing, like the thematically barely related "Drinks", which features Vast Aire and Karnegie Sativa. But the revolution is never avoided or abandoned, even if Billy says that he's "dead like a Palestinian on a mission" (on "Get Out The Kitchen"). Instead he recruits like-minded people, like Kong from the Monsta Island Czars army for the soulful "Cross My Heart".
With impatience running through this record like broken contracts run through the history of Native Americans and white settlers. Impatience that's not a weakness, but rather a 'ready to go'. As this album is strong. A strength hardly described but obvious upon listening. It's an unlikely promise as much as a kept promise. It's pureness in many ways. It's what rap still can be. And it's what more rap should be like more often.
review: tadah

reviews

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  • Proto-Chron
    author: Adam

    I bought this on the back of the Super Chron Flight Brothers CD from 07. Woods is what rap should be like. Ace.

  • Noone's Touchin' This!
    author: Fetty

    If you are a fan of Def Jux, Monsta Island, Stronghold, Living Legends, Wu-Tang, Hiero, or any other bangin' original shit you need to check this. Billy is sick, sick, sick. You'll be hard pressed to find a less pretentious rapper. His style is direct and honest for all of its skill. Some of these beats I know from other artists, but they are selected with a cohesion that's unusual for a mixtape-type release. & the beats that his peeps made are as distinctive as they are simple. Not to peg him as strictly political(too much soul to be kickin the party line) he has an insight into power that's unmatched by Kweli or whatever "conscious" rappers are big now. The only cat I can think to compare him to would be Big Jus, especially the Lune TNS ep and the Black Mamba Serum Lp. Billy's not quite as far out with the beats, but there's a similar mood and a similar integration of political perspective with everyday observation. Cop this, don't sleep like the beauty that you ain't! PG County STAND UP!

  • Rap cd with a message
    author: www.GreatIndieMusic.com

    Bill Woods does a good job on this cd. Keep up the good work!

  • must have!!
    author: lab rat

    I never heard of billy woods before hearing this cd and after hearing it he's one of my favorite artists. This is one of the best cd's released in '04 and is a must have for fans of raw underground music. Dont sleep on the chalice!!!

  • This album is an underground collectible
    author: AKIR (Unsigned Hype Jan/Feb '05)

    This album is an underground collectible, make sure you get it. Billy Woodz keep doin your thing can't wait till the "Terra Firma" album drops.

  • author: BIG SHANG THE WASHINGTON BULLET

    YO its good to hear my D.c. niggaz is keeping it poppen. you got skillz kid. and that joint you did with vaste aire is ill. keep doing what you doing son........your Dark City bretheran BIG SHANG...Check my album out hear on c.d.baby and let me know what you think.the album iz called jessie james.

  • Best Rap CD in 2004 you didn't hear
    author: C-Stevens

    The Chalice by Billy Woods was hands down the best underground rap CD in 2004. That's saying quite a lot. 2004 saw what will possibly be the high mark in underground rap and Billy Woods blew the rest of the pack out of the water. This CD is tight from beginning to end. Buy it now, because in 10 years everyone who is anyone is going to be talking about Billy Woods and the Chalice and you will be left out if you don't buy it right now.

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