Description
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PRESSED ON COKE BOTTLE CLEAR VINYL
Street Date: August 22nd
When billy woods released Today, I Wrote Nothing ten years ago, it was an unexpected departure from a rapper who was just starting to make waves in the indie rap scene. After spending the earlier part of his career in the wilderness, woods had managed to crawl out of obscurity with the minor success of 2012’s History Will Absolve Me. Dour Candy, 2013’s collaboration with underground legend Blockhead drew accolades, which only increased with Armand Hammer’s debut Race Music.
Then, woods dropped out of sight for two years before returning with Today, I Wrote Nothing, a record that deviated significantly from what had come before. Where Dour Candy had been concise and focused, TIWN was a sprawling 24 tracks. Where History Will Absolve Me was anchored by hard-hitting beats, anthemic songs, and a couple high powered features, TIWN was comprised of short vignettes, quietly eclectic production, and the only guests were his Backwoodz label-mates. Only one video was released; the claustrophobic “Flatlands”, shot on a shoestring budget in a Brooklyn housing project. Reviewers didn’t know quite what to make of the record, and in many cases, neither did fans.
As is often the case for woods’ albums, many perspectives shifted as the years passed. Listeners came to see the sad, quiet beauty of Today, I Wrote Nothing; a road trip album that doubles as a meditation on life’s journeys and death’s hiding places. The album’s power is in it’s intimacy, it’s insistence on holding your hand through the darkness. Now, TIWN is considered one of the more unique and vital records in woods catalogue. The dynamic woods created with TIWN vis-a-vis History Will Absolve Me and Dour Candy is one that would come to define his ouerve; constant experimentation, a refusal to be pigeonholed, and an unwavering search for the emotional heart of his subject. For us at Backwoodz, being able to repress this album on it’s ten year anniversary is especially sweet, because we remember how long it took us to sell that original run of 500. To everyone who copped one of those and helped us keep the lights on, this is for you too, we couldn’t have gotten here otherwise.
Produced by Messiah Musik, Aesop Rock, Blockhead, Willie Green, Elucid, DOSG4W
Tracklist:
A1 Lost Blocks
A2 The Big Nothing
A3 Flatlands
A4 Woodhull
A5 U-Boats
A6 Zulu Tolstoy
A7 Warmachines
A8 Carpetbagger
B1 Born Yesterday
B2 Sleep
B3 Scales
B4 Poor Company
B5 Dreams Come True
C1 Bicycles
C2 African Dodger
C3 Lambs
C4 Slow Week
C5 Weeper
C6 RPMS
D1 Dark Woods
D2 True Stories
D3 Borrowed Time
D4 Benediction
D5 Good Night
