History Will Absolve Me

History Will Absolve Me is the classic 2012 full-length album from billy woods, the Zimbabwean-Jamaican-by-way-of-Brooklyn rapper, who delivers a fragmentation grenade of an album. An explosive riot of bitter invective, evocative lyricism, and daisycutter beats, "History Will Absolve Me" is a solid hour of hardboiled anti-nostalgia. The album features guest appearances by established stars like Roc Marciano, Vordul Mega (Cannibal Ox), MarQ Spekt, and Masai Bey, but also features up-and-coming talents Elucid and junclassic. Willie Green, A.M. Breakups, Marmaduke, Nasa (Def Jux/Uncommon Music), and Man Mantis handle the beats and provide a backdrop that matches the intensity of woods’ labyrinthine verses. This original release followed on the heels of the Cowardly Threats & Hideous Cruelty mixtape, HWAM was woods’ third official solo album, but with eight years between them, this is less a follow-up to his debut than it is a bare-knuckle epilogue. It’s not an exaggeration to say that if this album had never dropped, Backwoodz might not be here today. The version on Spotify is not the original 2012 release, and omits a couple of songs. "Headband" and the final bonus track "The Darkness" were taken off. Additionally, the bonus tracks "Frozen Sunlight" and "Body of Work (Remix)" don't appear on streaming services. The project was supported by two singles, "Body of Work" (Mar. 21) and "Frozen Sunlight" (Apr. 5) . However, numerous songs would be made singles over the next year, even eating into the rollout of his fourth studio album, Dour Candy. These include: "Blue Dream" (May. 4, 2012), the "DMCA" Blockhead remix (Jul. 23, 2012), "Crocodile Tears" (Jun. 24, 2013), "The Wake" (Jun. 24, 2013) and then the "Crocodile Tears" PremRock and Teddy Faley remix (Jul. 29, 2013). Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.