Backwoodz Studioz is the Brooklyn label co-founded by billy woods back in the 2000s, but it was really in the early 2010s when it hit its stride, with releases from woods and ELUCID, then expanding its roster to include artists like Willie Green, Henry Canyons, Curly Castro, PremRock, and duncecap, just to name a few. They already started off 2023 on a strong note with the release of SKECH185’s He Saved Nothing For the Swim Back. Now the label has returned with a unique project, High Bias.

High Bias is an interesting project in that it falls somewhere between a label sampler and a mixtape that you would get back in the day, with all the new dope artists on it. However you slice it, this is a compilation that gives you a great dive into what Backwoodz is about in 2023, with mainstays like Armand Hammer and Shrapknel, but then also giving you a look at artists that have yet to release on Backwoodz, such as Fatboi Sharif or Cavalier. It’s an exciting mix, and for those that go in for that dark, gritty, dense, style of East Coast underground hip hop, of course Backwoodz is delivering that for you. The real icing on the cake, though, comes courtesy of a new track from an older artist, Breezly Brewin of The Juggaknots, who delivers “FOP,” produced by Sebb Bash. Not only is it nice to hear from an artist who clearly helped pave the way for a label like Backwoodz, it’s great to hear Breezly Brewin deliver the standout track on the compilation, sounding energetic and inspired as he goes in the subject matter of how the police are a corrupt institution which inherently prevents any cop from being a “good cop,” just putting on a clinic in the process.

High Bias has a target audience, and Backwoodz delivers exactly what they are going to want to hear. The good news is that while there is plenty of great hip hop from the Backwoodz artists you already know and love, hopefully at least a few listeners will get excited about someone like Fatboi Sharif, or they will go back and learn about Breezly Brewin.