At two-minutes and 39-seconds, “U-Boats” is the fourth-longest song on billy woods‘ forthcoming 24-track double vinyl LP, Today, I Wrote Nothing; an album that’s as “punk” in its political fury as it is its brevity. Though woods’ live persona is reserved, often taking a backseat to his cohorts in his various production, label and collaborative endeavors, the New York-mainstay is never one to mince words. On the album’s follow-up to the single “Warmachines”, woods keeps the combative theme using the German submarine as a metaphor for subversive oppression and street violence. “Blood in the water, you dead on the corner!” woods and his Armand Hammer partner Elucid shout in the song’s chorus.
Maybe most noteworthy is the heavy-handed production of Busdriver and Aesop Rock, which sees the two indie hip-hop legends take “U-Boats” to banger status reminiscent of the “Daylight“-era Def Jux days. It provides the perfect platform for woods to excel; long happy to lurk in the shadows, he has no where to hide on “U-Boats”. And we’re better off for it.
Today, I Wrote Nothing will be released March 31 on clear vinyl via Backwoodz Studioz. You can stream “U-Boats” below.
