"'Aethiopes' is a dense text full of bursts of language that demand serious thought and analysis. You could transcribe all of woods’ lyrics on the album and sell them as a poetry book, and on paper, they’d cut deeper than most of the (admittedly very little) poetry that I’ve forced myself to read over the years. But this isn’t homework. This is a rap record, and it’s a great one" - Stereogum writes reviewing billy woods' new album. "With Preservation behind the boards on every track, 'Aethiopes' skids across eras, countries, and cultures... A clear mid-career apex that shoves woods’ always outlandish style into territories further afield than ever before" - Pitchfork wrote.

"'BRASS' is the rare, mesmerizing album that can throw that kind of gut-punch, land it—and keep moving" - Pitchfork says in a review of the collaborate album by Moor Mother and billy woods (also a member of Armand Hammer). Pitch points out "together they treat history as a mass grave and a playground, heeding its horrors yet finding room for dark laughs and cautious hope". Tom Breihan said "it’s a work of tingling bad-feelings expressionism. To listen to 'BRASS' is to disappear into a certain headspace".

Complex presents (not so new) art rap scene, "a movement that has become one of the most vital things happening in hip-hop today". What these artists from the scene have "in common, more than a sound or a location, is a determination to be original and exist outside of the mainstream... and sound wildly different". The strongest names on the scene are R.A.P. Ferreira, billy woods, Elucid, Quelle Chris, and Armand Hammer (a duo consisting of woods and Elucid).