SAMPLEDArmand Hammer, explained: billy woods and ELUCID's 13-year run
Two of New York's most distinctive writers have been recording as a duo since 2013. A guide to the group, the albums and why the pairing works.
Armand Hammer is billy woods and ELUCID. That is the whole group — no permanent producer, no rotating third member. Two rappers who write nothing alike and somehow sound inevitable together.
How it started
Per the Backwoodz artist page (opens in a new tab), woods and ELUCID joined forces in 2013 and released Race Music, described by the label as "incendiary." Both were already established New York artists; neither needed the group. They kept doing it anyway, which is usually the sign of a real collaboration rather than a marketing one.
The albums
- Race Music (2013) — the debut, and the roughest-sounding of the run.
- Paraffin (2018) — the record where the duo's dynamic locks in.
- Shrines (2020) — the widest guest list and the most soulful production.
- Haram (2021) — produced entirely by The Alchemist, and the album that pulled the largest new audience toward Backwoodz.
Why the two voices work
woods writes in compressed fragments: a scene, a hard turn, an unresolved image. ELUCID writes in longer waves — more repetition, more incantation, more explicit engagement with faith and the body. Put those next to each other and each one makes the other legible. woods gets emotional context; ELUCID gets narrative grounding.
They also sequence generously. On most Armand Hammer records neither rapper hogs the record, and both will hand a track's best moment to a guest.
Where they fit on the label
ELUCID is a Backwoodz artist in his own right — the label maintains a dedicated page (opens in a new tab) for him — and Armand Hammer functions as the flagship. Nearly every other artist on the roster has crossed paths with one or both, which is how Backwoodz ended up feeling like a scene rather than a catalog.
Where to start
Haram if you want a single producer and a clean entry point. Shrines if you want the version with the most guests and the most melody. Paraffin if you want the duo at their most unsentimental.