billy woods – GOLLIWOG (Backwoodz Studioz)
Inspired by a short story that he wrote as a nine-year-old, NYC rapper billy woods’ first multi-producer album in over five years finds the connections between literary horror and real life.
The massively-prolific NYC rapper billy woods releases more music than the average person can probably keep up with, and he’s not really the type to drastically change up his style from one album to the next. And yet, you could never accuse him of redundancy or diminishing returns. He’s one of those artists whose music gets better and better the more you listen to it, and he’s also one of those artists whose newest album is usually my favorite. Every time woods drops–either a solo album or an album by Armand Hammer, his duo with ELUCID–he ropes me in all over again. GOLLIWOG is no exception, and even with all of the above being said, it feels like an especially high point of his vast catalog.
GOLLIWOG has its roots in a short horror story that woods wrote when he was nine years old about an evil golliwog, a type of rag doll that’s widely considered to be a racist caricature. “My mother read it and told me it was overly derivative and needed some work,” he said. “Here we are.” On the album, woods pulls from horror to provide commentary on real life, and as always, his observational wit finds depth in the mundane. Having made his last few solo albums with a sole producer, GOLLIWOG is the first billy woods solo album since 2019’s Terror Management to be made with multiple producers, and as a result, it’s full of musical variety. With production from The Alchemist, Kenny Segal, El-P, Conductor Williams, Preservation, Messiah Musik, Sadhugold, Ant (Atmosphere), Shabaka Hutchings, Steel Tipped Dove, DJ Haram, Willie Green, Jeff Markey, Saint Abdullah, and Human Error Club, GOLLIWOG pulls from lively jazz, experimental electronics, warped boom bap, grainy noise, and more. The beatwork keeps you on your toes as much as the knockout billy woods punchlines, and the guest appearances are just as expertly-curated as the cast of producers, with Cavalier, Despot, Al.Divino, woods’ Armand Hammer partner ELUCID, singer Yolanda Watson, and a show-stealing verse from the outlandish Detroit rapper Bruiser Wolf. As the head of the Backwoodz Studioz label, billy woods is not just a prolific rapper but also an expert curator, and it’s a testament to his overall vision that he can bring together over 20 artists with strong identities in their own right and still come out with something as cohesive as GOLLIWOG is.
Aesop Rock – Black Hole Superette (Rhymesayers)
The alt-rap veteran’s latest concept album finds the middle ground between the mundane and the surreal.
Long Island-born rapper Aesop Rock’s music has long embodied the sound of New York–one of his earliest tracks captures the feeling of spontaneously walking into a Lower East Side jazz club–and more recently he’s been on a kick of releasing sci-fi concept albums. Black Hole Superette sort of falls into both of those categories; look no further than the “Checkers” video to see how a late-night convenience store run can turn into a psychedelic space odyssey. It’s a concept that only Aesop Rock would’ve come up with, and he pulls it off exactly how you’d hope and expect. The fully-self-produced album is a dizzying aural trip and Aes still raps with the same fervor he had 25 years ago–no small feat, especially considering the prolific run he’s been on lately. Aesop Rock’s influence can also be heard throughout the current NYC rap underground, so it’s fitting and exciting that he continues to collaborate with current scene-leader billy woods, whose Armand Hammer duo (with ELUCID) makes a standout appearance on “1010WINS.” Other alt-rap staples make fitting appearances too, like Open Mike Eagle, Lupe Fiasco, and frequent Aesop Rock collaborator Homeboy Sandman, the latter two of whom are both on the song “Charlie Horse.” That they all come from different scenes, eras, and regions is a testament to how much of a force Aesop Rock has been in left-of-center rap music for a quarter-century and counting.
Bruiser Wolf – Potluck (Fake Shore Drive)
The Detroit rapper is at his most unstoppable and outlandish on this new album, with help from Knxwledge, Nicholas Craven, Harry Fraud, DJ Lucas, Fat Ray, and more.
Bruiser Wolf is fresh off a show-stealing verse on the new billy woods album, and if that verse left you wanting more, then you’ll probably agree that the timing is perfect for his own new album, Potluck. It’s full of everything that Bruiser Wolf does best–outlandish E-40-style flows and deliriously funny references–and he keeps it all coming throughout all 14 of these songs, with only a few breaks for well-matched guest verses (from DJ Lucas, Sir Michael Rocks, Fat Ray). The production is a melting pot of boom bap, chipmunk soul, and bass-heavy Detroit trap (with beats from Knxwledge, Nicholas Craven, Harry Fraud, Squadda B, Raphy, Sango, Jake One, and more), and it makes for a playful-yet-serious backdrop that supports Bruiser Wolf’s antics and never distracts from them. He’s the wordy, irreverent, brightly-shining star of his own show, and it’s honestly kind of remarkable that he never runs out of ridiculous things to say.
MIKE & Tony Seltzer – Pinball II (10k)
The sequel to last year’s ‘Pinball’ is MIKE’s second album of 2025, and it makes for an upbeat, trap-inflected contrast to his first.
The ever-prolific underground NYC rapper MIKE already released the hazy, immersive, 24-song Showbiz! earlier this year, and now he’s already back with Pinball II, a sequel to his collaborative 2024 album with producer Tony Seltzer. Like the first Pinball, this record’s a little more upbeat and trap-inflected than the kind of stuff MIKE’s doing on Showbiz!, and it’s always a treat to hear what happens when he breaks out of his usual hazy shell. Along for the ride: Earl Sweatshirt, Niontay, Sideshow, and Lunchbox.
Ovrkast – While The Iron Is Hot (IIIXL)
The rising rapper/producer’s first full-length in five years is lush, layered, and melodic. It’s his most fully-realized project to date.
In the five years since Ovrkast’s hazy abstract rap album Try Again, the Oakland rapper/producer pushed his music in louder, bolder directions across two EPs, 2023’s Reset! and 2024’s Cardo Got Wings-produced Kast Got Wings, and now he funnels that energy into a new full-length, While The Iron Is Hot. The production ranges from organic jazz to glitchy electronics to pitched-up soul samples, and Ovrkast shows off a melody-infused rapping style that would make WTIIH sit nicely next to early-’10s classics like Acid Rap and good kid, m.A.A.d city. He brought in a handful of great guests who are right in that ballpark, like Vince Staples, Saba, and MAVI, and one of the best verses comes from rising rapper Samara Cyn on “Small Talk.” While The Iron Is Hot is a testament to Ovrkast as a rapper, producer, curator, and auteur. It’s his most fully-realized, album-oriented project yet, and it’s been a minute since we’ve gotten this particular type of rap album from a rising artist like Ovrkast.
— Honorable Mentions Aminé – 13 Months of Sunshine Boldy James – Conversational Pieces (with Real Bad Man) & Magnolia Leflore (with Your Boy Posca) Benny the Butcher – Excelsior Chuck D – Chuck D Presents Enemy Radio: Radio Armageddon Chuckyy – I Live, I Die, I Live Again Flume & JPEGMAFIA – We Live In A Society GoldLink – Enoch HiTech – Honeypaqq Vol. 1 Knowledge the Pirate & Roc Marciano – The Round Table Lefty Gunplay & JasonMartin – Can’t Get Right Oddisee – En Route Rico Nasty – Lethal Rome Streetz & Conductor Williams – Trainspotting Snoop Dogg – Iz It A Crime? Tee Grizzley – Forever My Moment Valee & Harry Fraud – Egonomics Xzibit – Kingmaker Yung Lean – Jonatan