billy woods + Kenny Segal played Hiding Places at Warsaw

With an incredible onslaught of guests at the ready, billy woods and Kenny Segal headlined a Backwoodz Studioz homecoming affair.

After the explosive and announced opening set from ShrapKnel, the crew from Backwoodz Studio used the night to as a monumental occasion to bring out guests from across their collective history. Appearances from Akai Solo, Cavalier, Fatboi Shariff, and K-the-I??? were all just the preludes to a rare showing from underground legends The Juggaknots, who showed up with Queen Herawin in tow and laid down the rhymes to show just why they've remained legends for so long. All of this was the set up however because after this rundown of non-stop joints from these fantastic rappers, the man of the hour, the main event, billy woods took to the stage as Kenny Segal warmed things up with his deliriously fuzzy and crackling beats. Hidden in the shadows, the outline of woods was all we could see as the album cover to Hiding Places glowed from the back, creating a sharp silhouette of the rapper and DJ that kept the mood and spirit of the evening in close command. As his face was shrouded in darkness, it was woods' stage presence and vocal delivery that demanded the attention of the evening as the duo ran through their 2019 record in full and once the verses to opener "Spongebob" hit, the night was off for a set of furiously barbed bars over brutal, subterranean beats. As he spit his pointed and purposeful verses, the crowd shouted them back with equal fury and determination, hitting each line with a driven spirit that hit with passion and conviction. Running through the record and still having plenty of energy to go, woods and Segal brought E L U C I D to the stage for some Armand Hammer moments before ripping through what felt like the majority of the best album from 2023, Maps. As soon as the opening scratches and beats pumped through the speakers, the crowd lit up again with excitement and was ready to once again match woods with his words and inflection as they paid tribute to his greatness. In particular "Blue Smoke" felt like a real treat to hear live, the jazzy bass line making for a bold beat that woods attacks with serious fortitude and such powerful momentum that even he needed a breather once it was over. A really transcendent moment in a night filled with bits of real amazement. "Babylon By Bus" got ShrapKnel back on stage for their additions to the song and it was another instance of total magic that was brought together by the power of a hometown reunion. The entire crew came back to get the crowd to wave their flashlights in the air for "FaceTime" as everyone took on Samuel T. Herring's part and it made for one big party and the biggest flash of togetherness we'd see all evening. The lyrical dexterity of billy woods is astounding on record as he meanders his words around complex beats and avant-garde rhythms, but watching him, or rather being in the room to experience it, unlocks a new level of appreciate and admiration for the best rapper of the underground if not the entire industry.