Various Artists – High Bias (Backwoodz Studioz compilation)

Backwoodz Studioz and the artists associated with the label have been at the forefront of some of the most captivating and inspiring hip-hop of the last decade or so. High Bias is a compilation of sorts, including both artists signed to the label and frequent collaborators and friends. It’s a great introduction to the label, with a collection of interesting, thought-provoking tracks that showcase the talents of some of the best emcees and producers working today.

The 10 tracks on this project include vocal contributions from Armand Hammer, Fatboi Sharif, ShrapKnel, AKAI SOLO, ELUCID, Cavalier, billy woods, Breeze Brewin, Mattie, and of course billy woods, with production from the likes of DJ Haram, Steel Tipped Dove, Kenny Segal, Sebb Bash, P.U.D.G.E, August Fanon and Messiah Musik. Highlights for me include Fatboi Sharif’s “Carousel”, who always raps on some of the most experimental and animated production – shoutout to Steel Tipped Dove for it, ShrapKnel’s “Slick Watts” featuring AKAI SOLO and produced by Kenny Segal, with incredibly lush instrumentation and heavy, incredibly dense bars from all emcees, and the politically charged Breeze Brewin cut “FOP” produced by Sebb Bash. The energy on these tracks is dark and unassuming, as with most of the label’s music, with incredible bars that sit with me but will take time to digest. Also, a shoutout to Sebb Bash, who is slowly becoming one of my favourite producers working today, a lot of that being based not only on the beats he made for this project, but for his work with ELUCID on I Told Bessie. Their chemistry especially is just incredible, and have slowly been discovering more of his production recently… it’s crazy.

Listen to Backwoodz Studioz’s High Bias below via Bandcamp and don’t forget to support!