Maps (Billy Woods and Kenny Segal album)

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Maps
A series of panels, inspired by the visual style of airplane safety brochures, show airline passengers performing behaviors such as grilling meat and rolling joints.
Studio album by
Billy Woods and Kenny Segal
ReleasedMay 5, 2023
GenreHip hop
Length44:08
LabelBackwoodz Studioz
ProducerKenny Segal
Billy Woods chronology
Church
(2022) 		Maps
(2023)
Kenny Segal chronology
Indoors
(2021) 		Maps
(2023)
Singles from Maps
  1. "FaceTime"
    Released: April 12, 2023
  2. "Soft Landing"
    Released: May 3, 2023

Maps is a collaborative studio album by rapper Billy Woods and producer Kenny Segal. It was released through Backwoodz Studioz on May 5, 2023. The album was preceded by two singles: "FaceTime", which was released on April 12, 2023, and "Soft Landing", which was released on May 3, 2023. The album features guest appearances from Elucid, Danny Brown, Aesop Rock, Quelle Chris, ShrapKnel, Benjamin Booker, and Samuel T. Herring.

Background and recording

Maps is the second collaborative album between Woods and Segal, following 2019's Hiding Places.[1] Woods recounts that the duo had not worked closely together between the recording of Hiding Places and Maps. Though the two artists always intended to release additional collaborations,[2] Woods states that he and Segal chose to pursue separate artistic directions after the release of Hiding Places to ensure that their future projects would not feel like a retread of its material.[3]

After COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in North America and Europe, Woods undertook a crowded touring schedule, and his experiences with adjusting to this lifestyle after the pandemic informed the themes and recording process of Maps.[2][4] Woods has estimated that he wrote "70 percent" of the album while traveling.[2] Parts of the album were recorded in Los Angeles, including at studios belonging to Segal and fellow producer The Alchemist,[4] but Woods states that the majority of the recording took place while he was on tour.[2]

On March 27, 2023, Woods and Segal announced that Maps would be released on May 5 of that year; they also announced that the album's release would be followed by a tour of the United States and Europe throughout May and June.[5] The album's lead single, "FaceTime", was released on April 12.[6] The track features singer Samuel T. Herring, who had previously collaborated with Segal on the 2019 album Back at the House.[7] Maps' second single, "Soft Landing", was released on May 3, 2023.[8] "Soft Landing" has a music video, directed by actor Tim Blake Nelson and his son Henry Nelson;[9] this pair also directed a music video for the Maps track "Babylon by Bus".[10]

Content

Maps is a concept album about Woods' experiences as a touring musician.[1][11] The album has also been characterized as a "travelogue",[12][13] focusing less on any specific destination and moreso on the experience of rapidly and repeatedly traveling from one unfamiliar location to another.[1][11] Maps portrays travel as an experience that can often lead to indignities and alienation, but that is also capable of providing escape and adventure.[1][12] Woods has compared the album's narrative to that of the hero's journey, and emphasizes that its arc concludes with a return home.[4] In addition to the album's focus on travel, some critics have identified Maps as showcasing Woods' reaction to his increasingly prominent status in the underground hip hop scene.[14] Other reviewers observed that Maps shows Woods departing from the "political and historical" subject matter that had characterized his 2022 albums, Aethiopes and Church.[13]

The album cover, inspired by the design of airplane safety brochures, was illustrated by Ashes57.[3] It has been described as "depict[ing] Woods' unique brand of airplane etiquette".[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic90/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Beats Per Minute91%[16]
HipHopDX4.6/5[17]
Pitchfork8.9/10[1]
Rolling Stone[12]
StereogumFavorable[14]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[11]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Maps received an average score of 90 based on 10 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[15]

Woods' writing on Maps has attained particular praise; it has been described as "exquisite" and as placing him "into the ranks of rap's great stylists and storytellers".[11][1][16] His lyrics have been described as "packed with detail" and "bring[ing] people and places to life with quick, visceral strokes".[1] Paul Simpson of AllMusic characterizes the album as "one of Woods' most accessible and relatable efforts, containing some of his clearest, most vivid narratives".[13] Though the album was regarded as showcasing Woods' characteristic sense of dread, it has also been widely viewed as more lighthearted than much of Woods' other work;[16][14] a Rolling Stone interview notes that Woods also incorporates humor into some tracks.[4] The album's songs have been widely described as "vignettes" due to their short run times and emphasis on sense of place.[1][12][11] Woods has also been identified as making repeated references to golden age hip hop throughout his lyrics.[16][4] A more mixed appraisal of Woods' writing came from Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone, who found Maps to be less passionate than 2022's Aethiopes.[12]

Segal's production on Maps was also received positively. The overall mood of the production has been described as reflecting Woods' "combination of comfort and anxiety";[14] it has also been regarded as "subdued" and "clean, expansive" production that allows Woods' lyrics to take the foreground.[18][17] Other critics have described Segal's work on Maps as "globetrotting" and "jazzy", and noted that it featured "wilting sax lines and twinkling pianos" as major instruments.[1][12][11] A HipHopDX review observed that the production juxtaposed "softly chiming guitars and flute samples" with "bracing drum patterns".[17] Segal has been characterized as employing "clear melodies that invite the listener to lean in closer", but also as utilizing drum lines that "lurch sideways [rather than] falling into the old head-nod patterns".[12][14] Segal's production was widely contrasted to that of Hiding Places, his previous collaboration with Woods; Maps has been regarded as showcasing a "less severe" and "less dissonant" style than its precursor.[12][11]

Year-end lists

Select year-end rankings of Maps
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Consequence The 50 Best Albums of 2023
4
[19]
Exclaim! Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2023
7
[20]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2023
23
[21]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2023
3
[22]
Rolling Stone The 100 Best Albums of 2023
8
[23]
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2023
3
[24]
The Line of Best Fit The Best Albums of 2023
8
[25]

Track listing

Maps track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Kenwood Speakers"1:21
2."Soft Landing"2:53
3."Soundcheck" (with Quelle Chris)2:56
4."Rapper Weed"3:14
5."Blue Smoke"1:32
6."Bad Dreams Are Only Dreams"1:09
7."Babylon by Bus" (with ShrapKnel)2:08
8."Year Zero" (with Danny Brown)3:40
9."Hangman"2:55
10."Baby Steps" (with Elucid and Benjamin Booker)3:25
11."The Layover"2:50
12."FaceTime" (with Samuel T. Herring)3:32
13."Agriculture"1:40
14."Houdini"2:24
15."Waiting Around" (with Aesop Rock)3:01
16."NYC Tapwater"3:08
17."As the Crow Flies" (with Elucid)2:20
Total length:44:08

Personnel

Credits adapted from Bandcamp and Apple Music.[3][26]

Performance

  • Billy Woods – vocals
  • Aaron Carmack – Rhodes piano (tracks 3, 17)
  • Aaron Shaw – tenor saxophone (track 12)
  • Aesop Rock – vocals (track 15)
  • Benjamin Booker – vocals (track 10)
  • Danny Brown – vocals (track 8)
  • Elucid – vocals (tracks 10, 17)
  • Jason Wool – piano (track 11), Rhodes piano (track 16)
  • Joanne – additional vocals (track 15)
  • Mike Parvizi – bass (track 17)
  • Quelle Chris – vocals (track 3)
  • Ryan Crosby – guitar (track 17)
  • ShrapKnel – vocals (track 7)
  • Samuel T. Herring – vocals (track 12)
  • Shabaka Hutchings – flute (track 10)

Technical

  • Kenny Segal – production, mixing, engineering
  • Steel Tipped Dove – engineering
  • Aesop Rock – additional engineering
  • Willie Green – mastering

Charts

Chart performance for Maps
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 81
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[28] 31
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[29] 7

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kearse, Stephen (May 5, 2023). "billy woods / Kenny Segal: Maps". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Jenkins, Craig (May 9, 2023). "billy woods Is on an Indie-Rap Hero's Journey". Vulture. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Maps by billy woods & Kenny Segal". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Malone, Anthony (May 3, 2023). "Underground Rap Hero Billy Woods on Coming Full Circle". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  5. ^ Bloom, Madison (March 27, 2023). "billy woods and Kenny Segal Announce New Album and 2023 Tour Dates". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  6. ^ Helfand, Raphael (April 12, 2023). "billy woods and Kenny Segal share Maps' lead single, "FaceTime"". The Fader. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  7. ^ Fu, Eddie (April 13, 2023). "billy woods Teams with Future Islands' Samuel T. Herring on New Song "FaceTime": Stream". Consequence. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  8. ^ Legarde, Arielle Lana (May 3, 2023). "billy woods and Kenny Segal link up for "Soft Landing"". The Fader. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  9. ^ Torres, Eric (May 5, 2023). "billy woods and Kenny Segal Share New Video Directed by Tim Blake Nelson: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  10. ^ Strauss, Matthew (May 26, 2023). "Watch billy woods and ShrapKnel's New "Babylon by Bus" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Inscoe-Jones, Liam (May 5, 2023). "billy woods & Kenny Segal: Maps". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Reeves, Mosi (May 4, 2023). "billy woods' 'Maps' is the Kind of Album That's Designed to Get You Lost". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d Simpson, Paul (May 5, 2023). "billy woods - Maps Album Reviews, Songs & More". allMusic. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d e Breihan, Tom (May 2, 2023). "Album of the Week: billy woods & Kenny Segal Maps". Stereogum. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Maps by billy woods". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d Wohlmacher, John (May 8, 2023). "Album Review: billy woods & Kenny Segal – Maps". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  17. ^ a b c Lewis, Dash (May 25, 2023). "Billy Woods & Kenny Segal's 'Maps' is a stellar reflection on the casualties of tour". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  18. ^ Rugallini, Miloslaw Archibald (May 18, 2023). "Review: Billy Woods and Kenny Segal - Maps". Sputnik Music. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  19. ^ Krueger, J. (December 4, 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023 Ranked". Consequence. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  20. ^ Hopfe, Safiya (November 30, 2023). "Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2023". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  21. ^ Ham, Robert (November 27, 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  22. ^ Pierre, Alphonse (December 5, 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  23. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of 2023". Rolling Stone. November 30, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  24. ^ Buford, Jayson (December 5, 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023". Stereogum. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  25. ^ Kenneally, Cerys (December 4, 2023). "The Best Albums of 2023 Ranked". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  26. ^ "Maps – Album by billy woods & Kenny Segal – Apple Music". Apple Music. May 5, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  28. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  29. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
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