Church (Billy Woods album)

Church
Studio album by Billy Woods
Released	September 30, 2022 (2022-09-30)
Genre	Hip-hop [1] [2]
Length	36:49
Label	Backwoodz Studioz
Producer	Messiah Musik
Billy Woods chronology
Aethiopes (2022) Church (2022) Maps (2023)

Church is a studio album by American rapper Billy Woods. Produced by Messiah Musik, it features guest appearances from Elucid, Akai Solo, Fielded, and Fat Ray. It was released on September 30, 2022, through Backwoodz Studioz.

Background

Billy Woods is an American rapper based in New York. ^[3] Church is his second studio album of 2022, following Aethiopes . ^[4] It was inspired by Woods' buying cannabis that he described as "a classic strain I hadn't seen in a long time, and became the launching point for an album about a certain time in my life, a certain era in New York, and blossomed out from that into concepts of faith and belief." ^[5]

Church is entirely produced by Messiah Musik, except the track "Fever Grass", which is co-produced with Woods. ^[6] The album features guest appearances from Elucid (on "Fuchsia & Green" and "Magdalene"), Akai Solo (on "Classical Music"), Fielded (on "Classical Music"), and Fat Ray (on "Schism"). ^[7] The album is executive produced by Woods, engineered by Steel Tipped Dove, and mixed and mastered by Willie Green. ^[6]

Church was released on September 30, 2022, through Woods' record label Backwoodz Studioz. ^[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Beats Per Minute	83% [8]
Pitchfork	7.8/10 [9]
Robert Christgau	B+ [10]
Sputnikmusic	4.0/5 [11]

John Wohlmacher of Beats Per Minute commented that Billy Woods' "lyricism is as abstract as ever, while the production of Messiah Musik creates an eerie bed of shifting moods, whose hazy and directionless flow create a dream-like effect." ^[8] Jack Mancuso of Sputnikmusic stated, "While the lion's share of songs on Church's tracklist don't necessarily diversify themselves from one another, the album makes its mark as a consistent and disorienting slab of abstract hip-hop that rewards repeated listens to uncover the hidden gems that Woods has nestled neatly within his words." ^[11] Matthew Ritchie of Pitchfork wrote, "with his uncanny ability to fuse raps to fractured beats, Church is a sprawling personal history, one that ensures that his status as a master of his craft remains unchanged." ^[9]

Accolades

Year-end lists for Church

Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Beats Per Minute	BPM's Top 50 Albums of 2022	38	[12]
BrooklynVegan	BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2022	26	[13]
No Ripcord	The Best Albums of 2022	19	[14]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Billy Woods, except where noted.

Church track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"Paraquat"		3:05
2.	"Artichoke"		2:51
3.	"Swampwater"		1:45
4.	"Fever Grass"		3:03
5.	"Fuchsia & Green" (featuring Elucid)	Woods Elucid	3:37
6.	"Classical Music" (featuring Akai Solo and Fielded)	Woods Akai Solo Fielded	4:30
7.	"Cossack Wedding"		2:31
8.	"Schism" (featuring Fat Ray)	Woods Fat Ray	3:42
9.	"Frankie"		2:18
10.	"Pollo Rico"		2:59
11.	"All Jokes Aside"		3:01
12.	"Magdalene" (featuring Elucid)	Woods Elucid	3:11
Total length:			36:39

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. ^[15]

• Billy Woods – co-production (on "Fever Grass"), executive production
• Messiah Musik – production
• Steel Tipped Dove – engineering
• Willie Green – mixing, mastering
• Ashes57 – design
• Alexander Richter – photography

Charts

Chart performance for Church

Chart (2022)	Peak position
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [16]	58

References

1. Morgan, Tom (October 6, 2022). "Hip-Hop Matters: The Best Hip-Hop of September 2022". PopMatters . Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
2. Mlynar, Phillip (November 2, 2022). "The Best Hip-Hop on Bandcamp: October 2022". Bandcamp Daily . Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
3. Simpson, Paul. "billy woods". AllMusic . Retrieved January 3, 2026.
4. Lewis, Dash (January 17, 2023). "Backwoodz Studioz - A Look Back At Their Brilliance in 2022". HipHopDX . Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
5. Chick, Stevie (May 8, 2023). "David Attenborough, weed and 'American apartheid': the awesome mind of rapper Billy Woods". The Guardian . Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
6. Bloom, Madison (September 30, 2022). "billy woods Drops New Album Church: Listen". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
7. Nevares, Gabriel Bras (October 1, 2022). "Billy Woods Drops Ethereal New Album, "Church"". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
8. Wohlmacher, John (October 11, 2022). "Album Review: billy woods – Church". Beats Per Minute . Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
9. Ritchie, Matthew (October 18, 2022). "billy woods: Church". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
10. Christgau, Robert. "Billy Woods". Robertchristgau.com . Archived from the original on March 26, 2025. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
11. Mancuso, Jack (October 8, 2022). "Billy Woods: Church (feat. Messiah Musik)". Sputnikmusic . Retrieved January 3, 2026.
12. "BPM's Top 50 Albums of 2022". Beats Per Minute . December 15, 2022. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
13. "BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2022". BrooklynVegan . December 14, 2022. Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
14. "The Best Albums of 2022". No Ripcord. December 21, 2022. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
15. "Church | billy woods x Messiah Musik". Bandcamp . Archived from the original on November 17, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
16. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 4, 2026.

External links

• Church at Discogs (list of releases)
• Church at AllMusic