Audiopile Review: After the runaway success of 2023’s Maps, the second collaboration between billy woods and Kenny Segal, Backwoodz dips into the extensive back catalog of woods and reissues one of his most sought after LPs, 2019’s Hiding Places (originals were going for about $400!). While Maps was a rare easygoing LP from woods, revealing a unique perspective into the inner workings of the complex and mysterious rapper, Hiding Places is firmly planted within the stark intensity that’s largely been his trade since dropping 2012’s monumental History Will Absolve Me. woods may be the draw here for many of you—his fragmented bursts of minute details pulled from the depths of his subconscious, the gruff abstractions of the day to day, or his humorous self-deprecating bars are particularly on point across Hiding Places. The density of his verbiage beg to be unlocked, repeated listens required in our vain attempts to do the impossible. But the production of Segal gives Hiding Places ample reason to keep coming back too. Segal’s production credits with Armand Hammer, as well as solo works for both ELUCID and woods, stretch back to 2017’s Rome, the producer now deeply intertwined with the NYC duo and the Backwoodz aesthetic. It’s a team-up that’s proven fruitful for both, Segal’s profile raised notably since his days as an unsung member of LA’s Project Blowed collective, recently contributing to albums for underground heavies like Open Mike Eagle and R.A.P. Ferreira. Armed with a palette of hard-to-place samples, Segal perfectly matches the cryptic flow of woods with a warped set of beats riddled with dark jazz samples, slowed down psych nuggets and cloudy beats, the album swimming in an opaque haze of record crackle and thickened atmosphere. Those who had only caught wind of the woods/Segal pairing via the celebrated breakthrough Maps are encouraged to reach further back to hear the early days of their divine union. Limited copies available.

Hiding Places is a collaborative album from Brooklyn-based rapper billy woods and Los Angeles beat scene veteran Kenny Segal, set for release by Backwoodz Studioz on March 29, 2019. On its face, it seems an unlikely pairing; woods—who moonlights as ½ of dissonant rap duo Armand Hammer—is a chaotic force, the warped relic of an NY indie-rap wave that never happened. Meanwhile, Segal has been in L.A. for twenty years; from paying dues with Project Blowed to pushing the culture forward with Busdriver and Milo. All the while, his soulful, dreamlike production precariously tethered to earth by the right drums or rumbling bass.

But look closer and it makes more sense. After all, Segal lent his production to a couple of songs on Paraffin, Armand Hammer’s critically-acclaimed opus, and the two veterans have more than a few shared collaborators: Open Mike Eagle, ELUCID, and Hemlock Ernst amongst them. Hiding Places finds both artists deep in the labyrinth. Segal’s lush soundscapes have a new edge, woods’ writing is, paradoxically, at its most direct. Hiding Places is a child’s game: funny and cruel, as brutal as a fairy tale. The album features contributions from both artists’ well of collaborators with ELUCID, Self-Jupiter, and MOTHERMARY making appearances.