Maps (Billy Woods and Kenny Segal album)

Maps is a concept album about Woods' experiences as a touring musician.[1][2] Woods has described Maps as a "post-pandemic" album, as he was inspired to write it during the crowded touring schedule he undertook after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in North America and Europe.[3] The album has also been characterized as a "travelogue",[4][5] focusing less on any specific destination and moreso on the experience of rapidly and repeatedly traveling from one unfamiliar location to another.[1][2] Maps portrays travel as an experience that can often lead to indignities and alienation, but that is also capable of providing escape and adventure.[1][4] Woods has compared the album's narrative to that of the hero's journey, and emphasizes that its arc concludes with a return home.[3] In addition to the album's focus on travel, some critics have identified Maps as showcasing Woods' reaction to his increasingly prominent status in the underground hip hop scene.[6] Other reviewers observed that Maps shows Woods departing from the "political and historical" subject matter than had characterized his 2022 albums, Aethiopes and Church.[5]

Maps is the second collaboration between Woods and Segal, following the 2019 album Hiding Places.[1] The album was recorded in a gradual fashion: Woods has stated that he wrote approximately "70 percent" of Maps while traveling, and that he recorded around two-thirds of his verses on the road.[7] Much of the remainder of the album was recorded in Los Angeles, partially at Segal's studio and partially at the studio of fellow producer The Alchemist.[3]

The album cover, inspired by the design of airplane safety brochures, has been described as "depict[ing] Woods' unique brand of airplane etiquette".[3]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	90/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Beats Per Minute	91%[9]
HipHopDX	4.6/5[10]
Pitchfork	8.9/10[1]
Rolling Stone	[4]
Stereogum	Favorable[6]
The Line of Best Fit	9/10[2]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Maps received an average score of 90 based on 10 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[8]

Woods' writing on Maps has attained particular praise; it has been described as "exquisite" and as placing him "into the ranks of rap's great stylists and storytellers".[2][1][9] His lyrics have been described as "packed with detail" and "bring[ing] people and places to life with quick, visceral strokes".[1] Paul Simpson of AllMusic characterizes the album as "one of Woods' most accessible and relatable efforts, containing some of his clearest, most vivid narratives".[5] Though the album was regarded as showcasing Woods' characteristic sense of dread, it has also been widely viewed as more lighthearted than much of Woods' other work;[9][6] a Rolling Stone interview notes that Woods also incorporates humor into some tracks.[3] The album's songs have been widely described as "vignettes" due to their short run times and emphasis on sense of place.[1][4][2] Woods has also been identified as making repeated references to golden age hip hop throughout his lyrics.[9][3] A more mixed appraisal of Woods' writing came from Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone, who argued that Maps "doesn't pulse with the same passion as Aethiopes".[4]

Segal's production on Maps was also received positively. The overall mood of the production has been described as reflecting Woods' "combination of comfort and anxiety";[6] it has also been regarded as "subdued" and "clean, expansive" production that allows Woods' lyrics to take the foreground.[11][10] Other critics have described Segal's work on Maps as "globetrotting" and "jazzy", and noted that it featured "wilting sax lines and twinkling pianos" as major instruments.[1][4][2] A HipHopDX review observed that the production juxtaposed "softly chiming guitars and flute samples" with "bracing drum patterns".[10] Segal has been characterized as employing "clear melodies that invite the listener to lean in closer", but also as utilizing drum lines that "lurch sideways [rather than] falling into the old head-nod patterns".[4][6] Segal's production was widely contrasted to that of Hiding Places, his previous collaboration with Woods; Maps has been regarded as showcasing a "less severe" and "less dissonant" style than its precursor.[4][2]