2022: Aethiopes is the tenth studio album by the prolific Brooklyn rapper billy woods, and it is one of his most complex and ambitious works. The album is fully produced by Preservation, who previously collaborated with woods on Terror Management and also on Preservation’s own Eastern Medicine, Western Illness. The album was released on April 8, 2022, through Backwoodz Studioz1

The album is partly inspired by woods’ own fear of death and an incident in which his father collapsed before a family dinner in January 2020 after accidentally taking double his heart medication. The album is also influenced by the ancient European name for African people, Aethiopes, and the cover art is taken from the Rembrandt painting Two Moors. The album explores themes such as blackness, Africa, diaspora, history, and the other.

The album features 13 tracks, each with its own distinctive mood and style. The album showcases woods’ musical diversity and lyrical depth, as he blends elements from hip-hop, jazz, soul, and folk with complex rhymes, witty references, and vivid storytelling. The album also features guest appearances from some of the most respected and talented artists in the industry, such as Black Thought, Boldy James, El-P, Mike Ladd, Shinehead, and more.