Rapper Billy Woods and producer Kenny Segal are one of hip-hop’s best duos, and this year they’ve joined forces again to celebrate the fifth anniversary of their 2019 album Hiding Places. A modern classic by most hip-hop metrics, the collaboration received plenty of acclaim and appeared on many best-of-year lists upon its release. Five years later, the album’s musical beauty, unflinching lyrics, and growling beats feel even more apropos of the moment.
Segal grew up playing cello and got his start as a drum ’n’ bass producer before turning his focus to hip-hop. A stalwart of the Los Angeles beat scene, he developed a genre-bending production style that’s ductile, tasteful, and respectful of the almighty knock. He’s worked with the best of the left-of-center MCs, including Danny Brown, Quelle Chris, and Earl Sweatshirt, and Woods sounds right at home inside Segal’s beats, dropping powerful verses that are simultaneously amusing and alarming.
The production on Hiding Places shrinks and grows in equally interesting blips: “Checkpoints” ticks and blurps along until it’s hit with a lightning bolt of rock guitar, bass drum, and crash cymbal. The instrumental track is nimble enough to respond to Woods’s winding vocals, yet sturdy enough to hold together. Another personal favorite is “Speak Gently”—that guitar line is just nasty.When I contacted Segal via email about the duo’s upcoming show at Thalia Hall, he told me that a great number of songs on their set list “are not performed regularly, if at all.” They’ll also have new Hiding Places anniversary merch in tow, which is sure to be highly coveted, so you’ll want to buy a ticket now and get in line for the merch table early. Woods and Segal’s honest, timeless hip-hop is only getting better—and their legions of die-hard fans are here for it.
Billy Woods & Kenny Segal 8 PM, Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport, $25, 17+