BILLY WOODS & KENNY SEGAL @ BRIGHTON MUSIC HALL

Photography by Matt Lutkins

Review by Jonny Malyon

Billy Woods and Kenny Segal are on a five-year anniversary tour for their first collaborative album, “Hiding Places.” The set began with a brief instrumental run by Kenny Segal. He briefly greeted the crowd but then set the mic down and performed a handful of lush instrumental beats, masterfully mixing one into the next, playing around with different variations and effects. The stage setup and presence were very minimal. Segal was backlit by four stationary purple lights, leaving just the silhouette of his grooving form manning the turntables. I was impressed by how Segal kept the crowd moving on his own. It’s clear that Segal has a vast array of musical influences and interests through his sample selection, which ranges from classical to jazz. There were times when a somewhat rhythmically ambiguous sample choice had the crowd shuffling awkwardly until the heavy beat kicked in, and we all knew when to bob our heads. 

After a handful of these instrumental tracks, Billy Woods walked on stage to uproarious applause. He jumped right on the mic with the track “Spongebob,” which started their set of almost the entirety of “Hiding Places.” After the first song, Woods asked the stage lighting manager if the lights could be dimmed even further, “As dark as your insurance will allow, I promise I won’t fall off the stage,” he joked. They must have been within their legal limit because I didn’t notice the lighting was dim at all. However, the lights did start to move a bit, and the color changed to red, drawing approval from Woods. Along with this simple silhouette-style stage setup, after this initial communication, Woods didn’t talk much in between songs, letting his raps speak for themselves.

While the setlist was clearly focused on “Hiding Places,” I noticed a few omissions towards the end of the record, namely “Speak Gently,” “Bigfakelaugh,” and “Red Dust.” While the rest of the album was included in the setlist, they weren’t all played in album order, and there were a few surprises sprinkled in. Most of these were from Segal and Woods’ second collaborative effort, “Maps.” They performed “Soft Landing,” “FaceTime,” “Year Zero,” “Hangman,” and “Blue Smoke.” Additionally, while Woods took a short break to rest his voice and drink what looked like hot tea, Segal performed an instrumental version of “As the Crow Flies.” Following this instrumental, Woods commented, “If your list of greatest producers in the game doesn’t include Kenny Segal, I ain’t listening.” I was convinced. Following his instrumental opening to the set, Segal didn’t let up. His beats and live mixes from one track to the next really carried the show for me. Woods is an incredible lyricist, and I often find that when I listen to his recorded music, I can tell it was mixed to emphasize his lyrics; while the beats might not hit as hard as some of the more commercial or mainstream contemporary rap records. Hearing these songs performed live and feeling the kick drum in my chest gave them new life. It was almost impossible not to move to Segal’s masterfully crafted production.

Another surprise in the setlist was an MF DOOM cover of “Gas Drawls.” As a huge DOOM fan, it was a treat to hear the track performed live, and I appreciated Woods’ “Rest in Peace MF DOOM” shoutout after the song was over. However, I will say that the cover highlighted one of Woods’ shortcomings in my mind. DOOM is known for mind-boggling rhyme density and lyrical proficiency, which Woods’ is clearly a student of. Where Woods falls short of DOOM is his flow. Unless I was constantly paying attention to exactly what he was saying, Woods’ flows weren’t always captivating. At times, they felt a bit stale and in need of a switch-up. Nevertheless, I recognize that this isn’t a pitfall for everyone. The crowd around me knew every song by heart, bar for bar, and was rapping along with him, which is a powerful thing for an artist to elicit. When I was tuned attentively into his lyrics, I was blown away by the grand concepts and ideas that Woods was able to convey clearly and succinctly. 

To that end, it is clear that Woods’ is a man of the people. He ended his set by telling everyone that there was merch available in the back and that if we stuck around, he’d be happy to sign everything he could. He seemed genuinely grateful that we were all there rocking with him. Despite the growing critical acclaim and attention he’s seen, especially in the past 5 years, Woods is committed to perfecting his craft, staying true to his fans, and continuing the lineage of lyrically focused and musically progressive emcees that came before him.