How to Write Like Billy Woods
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- čas přidán 20. 11. 2022
- This video lists some tips and techniques billy woods uses that aspiring writers and rappers should definitely pick up on to elevate their writing. There's absolutely no way I can break down woods' brilliance in one video so if you'd like to see a sequel to this or something, let me know!
All footage rights go to Billy Woods. No copyright intended.
shoutout to Unveiling The Underground for the instrumentals.
I smile everytime I listen to Billy Woods cause he sets the scene for my imagination to go wild.
Same here, man. woods is an incredible storyteller!
He doesn't use capital letters in his name.
It's billy woods
@@QaatilXIII🤓☝️
yeah sometimes I just gotta smile at how cold and precise the imagery is
As for story telling, Woods tells so many amazing stories. There are hundreds of amazing examples. This one came on today, so that’s why I’ll use it over others. In Magdalene off of Church, he tells the story of an ex girlfriend hitting him up. She is in an abusive relationship and she wants the protagonist to come an take her away. Her boyfriend catches wind and tells the protagonist “she don’t wanna be saved.” After mulling it over, he decides to go and get her. But, she ghosts him, most likely due to the control the boyfriend has. I believe he either took her phone and/or beat her or worse. The protagonist continues driving towards her, but never reaches her again. He is emotional and sleep deprived. Ends up driving his car off of the road. At the end of the song we are left with lyrics that confirm dead bodies. Either the protagonist, the girl, or both. It’s a haunting song.
Another beautiful song is one everyone can relate to. It’s the shortest song in his discography. ‘Dreams Come True’ off of “Today, I Wrote Nothing.” My favorite Woods album. Here are the complete lyrics:
“Caught feelings off an old picture.
Hit her up like ‘I still miss ya.’
Two words: ‘N***a, please.’
Fair enough.”
So much beauty and pain and real life in such a short, concise song. I’m not saying Woods is the only MASTER of this craft, but he is definitely a master of this craft. Dude is a true writer.
Incredible comment! I LOVE the storytelling on Magdalene and actually considered using some examples from it for this video. It's definitely going to be featured on another breakdown of woods style. Messy situationships seem to be a particular focus point when it comes to woods writing and he portrays them so well. Case in point, the lyrics you just mentioned that I hadn't even heard yet.
That stanza is hilarious and heartbreaking man, geez. Real life, just like you said.
@@unknownreviews7259 The album is Today, I Wrote Nothing. Which, as I mentioned is my favorite Woods album. It’s based on a book by a Russian writer who lived under Stalin’s rule. They are almost vignettes. It’s political, but also absurdist. And Woods kinda followed that formula with this album. Some of the production is a little more upbeat than a lot of his later albums and the 1st time I heard it, I didn’t like it. But man, it’s so, so good.
This song is funny cause it’s total run time is like less than a minute. He raps for like 15 seconds.
@@thevinyltruffle I know exactly what you mean about his older stuff being a listening adjustment. Today I Wrote Nothing sounds incredible though I’ve got to give it a listen! I’m starting to make my way through his full discog but still have some work to do. Maybe I should do a reaction to that one or something
@@unknownreviews7259 i mean, you cant really go wrong whatever your decision. Reaction vids do seem to be popular tho. Lots of channels built on a simple premise. No research required.
His writing is so brutal and brazen.
Yup that’s the perfect way to put it
I've been listening to Woods for a while, but the when I heard "Christine" I realised this man knows something we don't. Wordsmith
Christine is SEVERELY underrated I swear
@@unknownreviews7259 sets a scene immediately
More Woods videos,please.
Another thing about Woods, you better have Google ready when you look up those lyrics. If you really wanna understand his music, you will need to know the meaning of words, historical figures and events and the source of his samples. All too often the samples lyrical content ties into the meaning of Woods’ song.
Yep. 100%. Every woods review I do results in me having at least 10 google tabs open. It's fun work but not easy loool
One reason why I love to tap in more into underground hip-hop
Excellent video. I subscribed. I hope you make more of these! As a rapper/song writer, it's incredibly interesting to hear somebody break these lyrics down. Please keep making these .
Thank you! I appreciate it :) That’s super awesome to hear because I wanted to make this sort of video for that exact reason-to help out those of us that are working on our own art. I’ll definitely be making more of these so stay tuned!
Excellent analysis- looking forward to the next one.
Thank you!!
Unknown reviews I'd like to thank you for this review and the one on Earl sweatshirt's Shattered dreams. I think you're doing a pretty good job putting these out for artists , writers etc.
Keep them coming!!
Dope channel, man💯. Would love more vids like this.
I haven't been listening to Billy Woods for a long time, but he's got some lyrical bars!
why he spoke about Mengistu is because he stayed in Zimbabwe and that's also where Billy Woods grow up and that where Mengistu has been exhailed
great great video, keep em comin
subbed, good shit. im a writing but doing my teacher training this year & next so havent written poetry or script in months and months now. i'm gonna get my shit together then get right into the grime and gritty of the beauty that is creation. this vid was exactly what i needed; inspiring but humbly down to earth. have a gooden and ty for the content
aaaaa a fellow poet! I’m so glad you were able to get even the tiniest bit of inspiration from this video. Thanks for subscribing. I made this and will be making other videos like this exactly for people like you and I who really want to get serious about creation and just want a seat at the artistic table. I know the feeling of having unfinished poems and stories (hello my unfinished novel of six years) and songs and how frustrating staying in that space can be. Awesome to hear you’ve got a gameplan to get back in the game and I wish you the best of luck. You can do it!
I will watch all Woods content you can give. I dive into his lyrics myself, but it is time consuming. I haven’t gotten to Athiopes yet. And, a different perspective is always necessary.
That honestly means a lot hahah. Your commentary is super appreciated. Thanks! I mean there’s so much go to into with him I’ll probably have a bunch coming out. that’s super cool that you study some of his writing too! You have some really interesting observations about his writing. If you’re ever interested in doing some sort of joint collab or something breaking down Aethiopes just let me know 👀.
@@unknownreviews7259 I mean, that’s such an awesome thing to even say. I appreciate it. But damn. Aethiopes is so heady. Like, it’s so deep. Now, I imagine it would start to take shape as I started to dive in, but I’m much farther back in his catalogue. I write out the lyrics song by song. Then, I highlight and research any key words, events, phrases and references. Finally, I dive into the samples. So this takes a lot. For example, A Mis Enemigos took 6 pages of writing. He tied the meaning of the song not only into the sample, but also the artist behind the sample.
Another super cool sample is from Pompeii. The whole song he keeps coming back to “you followed orders” or “all you did was follow orders.” Well the main sample is from The Shining. A book/movie in which the main character is told by ghosts to kill his family. He follows orders even though they are horrific.
@@thevinyltruffle Before you listen to Aethiopes, watch the movie “Kongi’s Harvest.” You will thank me later. Also Aethiopes might be billy’s best record PERIOD. so get ready.
Cannot wait!!!
Thanks!!
great vid. I think he’s the greatest writer of all time
Thanks man! He's definitely up there imo. I'm just hoping more people give him his flowers while he's here. Right now he's still WAY too underrated.
This was great bro appreciate this video
Thanks so much!!!
Yo this video is really well done!
Thanks so much!!!
One of my goats 🐐
100%!!
Well structured video right here. This is the best description of Billy Woods’s writing ability. Maybe you can do one on Ka🤷🏾♂️🔥?
Thank you so much I really appreciate it! And thank you for the INCREDIBLE idea. I’ve definitely got to do one on Ka. I’m going to put that one on the to-do list :)
@@unknownreviews7259, you’re welcome man💪🏾. That vid will be fire for sure.
@@unknownreviews7259 between woods and ka, you could do this for years. Have you ever heard of Professor Skye? He is a youtuber who is a french professor at a university. He is also putting together a Hip Hop Studies major at that university. He reviews a lot of albums. And as he was breaking down I think Church, he mentioned that when he does a woods review, he gets the most responses from intellectuals who are writing papers and thesis’ on Woods work. I would actually really check his stuff out before you do anymore on Aethiopes. He knows the movie that is integral to this album. The movie that all those samples are from. And apparently it lines right up with the subject matter. So, watching that movie may give you much more insight into it. IMO, Professor jumps into his reviews too soon after an album comes out, but he still brings a ton of great info. Like, if I were him, I would review less music, but more thoroughly. During the summer dude was reviewing every other hip hop album that he heard of. They aren’t reactions, because he spends time with the album and does some research. I just think he should spend more time. But, he’s a super intelligent guy. Great resource.
@@thevinyltruffle Professor Skye is one of my favorite reviewers! Im so appreciative of the care he treats the projects he reviews with and his perspective is always so interesting to hear. He’s had a big influence on how I approach covering music with his “always positive” rule. I definitely plan to check out both the Aetheiopes-related movie (forget the name) and House of Hunger which he also recommended for Church. I wish I could attend that Hip Hop Studies class though 😩😩
These videos tend to do better with a quick summary of the different points at the end, very high quality video.
Thanks man, I appreciate it!
Another thing that he does that I don’t think you mentioned in this video is that he will sometimes use sonic cues within the beat that he is rapping over and make his references match a similar theme. The main example I’m thinking of is on the song wharves where there is a bell in the instrumental that sounds like a buoy And Woods is making all these maritime and travel references throughout the song
This channel is great subbed and on the lookout for more
Thank you so much I really appreciate your support! Be sure to let me know of any artists you'd like a breakdown of!
@@unknownreviews7259 oh yeah for sure you already got the Earl and billy woods so an interesting pick would maybe be black thought? I started checking out cheat codes recently and it’s hard to wrap my head around. Also a large Mac fan too so basically anything there would be really cool
Phenomenal vid dude
thank you!! much love!!
Keep the woods content coming... He's one of the all-time greats!
Great video 👍 I'd also say, DON'T SLEEP ON ELUCID! He's the perfect collaborator for billy, and he's incredibly underrated.
I slept on ELUCID for awhile but not anymore!! I def plan to do a breakdown on him sometime. I lowkey think he stole the show on Paraffin
@@unknownreviews7259 Sweet! Looking forward to it... _Paraffin_ is still my favorite Armand Hammer album, and one of the best of recent yrs.
hey, amazing video!!
just a thought i had if you do more videos like that was the background music being a bit too loud?? it goes a long way to understanding what you say (specially for non natively english speakers) if you have the background music just slightly hearable. here you have them at the same volume, sounds like you're rapping over it which is kinda sick
if you can do full album breakdowns i’ll be subscribing to your patreon. good shit.
Great video. woods' is such a confident writer that he's not afraid to scare aware listners with opaque references to history and politics. But you're totally right, the references are an invitation not a requirement. Subbed :)
Thank you so much I appreciate it!! By the way, you had a really great video on woods as well!!
@@unknownreviews7259 Haha, thank you!
THIS WAS GREAT, SUBSCRIBED
Thanks man!
Great video!!!
THANK YOU KIND SIR
The ideas and simplicity in explaing, I love it. I feel like you repeated yourself more than needed and the video could have been shorter and even more simplistic to take in, but I see the passion and uniqueness so I leave love before I go
I really appreciate it thank you!!
Great video and points! :)
thank you!!
loved this video
Appreciate the support 💗💗
Great insight
Thank you!!
Big fan
thanks!!
Loved this video, I’ll definitely watch whatever lyrical analysis you do. Also wondering if you would analyze mine, or what it would take to get you to analyze mine
Thank you so much! Apologies for the late response - dm me at @unknownreviewwwws on instagram I'd be happy to listen to your stuff and give you some feedback
bro, you need to do an elucid vid, i would love to see that
an ELUCID video is DEFINITELY already in the plans. I have alot to say about him. he's extremely underrated and one of the most unique rappers I've ever listened to. can't wait to get into him eventually!
Dude I fuckin love this
Much appreciated 🖤🖤
@@unknownreviews7259 hey my guy, I was wondering if u had any opinion on no hard feelings from atheiopes
I love the story that song was telling, but I can't for the life of me break down all the references and tie em back to the theme of the song
@@geoffking6031 I’m not gonna lie I’m currently in the same boat as you. I just took a look at Genius and it seems as if the first verse is referencing a lot about drug addiction and the vicious cycle that it entails. But honestly, I’d have to take a closer look. Maybe in a future video hmmm. Def something to think about. But I think that’s gotta be a top 10 woods song ever tbh
whats the last instrumental?
What’s the instrumental after the intro of asylum
Where did you pick up the writing knowledge? Any books or something. Just curious.
No books, no anything really. Just loving my favorite artists and listening over and over again, studying in my own way and picking up things that they do. The closest thing I could say is honestly just being around other artists I know and watching some writing videos like this one here and there on CZcams. But really its something that developed over time. I think if you care about something enough, you'll naturally improve at it!
can u do a earl verson of this
I have! It was actually the next video I did after this one. You’ll see it on my channel page :))
What’s the instrumental at 4:40
Billy Woods - El Pollo Rico
how to start writting? im a producer and idk how to spit on my beats
Try to imagine what other rappers would say and then change tha flow and bars around a lil bit
Woods football references>>>> any other rapper
I'm sorry man, but this video could've been half as long as it is. You repeat yourself to a ridiculous extent
Do MC RIDE