His mother was an English literature professor from Jamaica. His father was a Ph.D. Marxist writer, active in the Zimbabwe War of Liberation and then a member of the government in Zimbabwe. In 1980, the family moved to Zimbabwe. After the death of Woods' father, they returned to the United States in 1989. Woods briefly attended Howard University before getting involved in New York City's hip-hop scene. He started making music in the late 1990s. He wrote his "first real rhyme" at a laundromat in Kennebunk, Maine in 1997.
Billy Woods released his debut solo album, Camouflage, on his record label Backwoodz Studioz in 2003. In 2012, he released History Will Absolve Me. In 2013, he released Dour Candy, which was entirely produced by Blockhead. In 2017, he released Known Unknowns. It was included on Rolling Stone's "15 Great Albums You Probably Didn't Hear in 2017" list. In 2019, he released a collaborative album with producer Kenny Segal, titled Hiding Places, and a solo album, Terror Management. 2020 brought Brass, a collaborative album with Moor Mother. Woods released Aethiopes and Church in 2022. On May 5th 2023 Woods released Maps , second collaborative album with producer Kenny Segal.
One Thousand One Nights
Billy Woods Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Back of the Times-Picayune
I was nervous tongue tied
She played it cool
Eyes the size of Olympic pools
Still waters simple jewels
Sipped wine with imagined sophistication
Stormed the castle
A moments hesitation
Then took the pussy like a slaver boat
I left to make a sale
Yes, I think you may omit the details of the seduction,
They're never very enlivening: just describe the event itself
She stayed in bed
Soon as I returned crooked a finger
Spread those legs
She can't suck dick worth shit
The scale is digital
But I ain't have the heart
She asks me what I'm thinking
I'm wondering what she knows
But she gots to have it
Sackcloth & ashes
Victory has a thousand fathers
Oliver Twist flipped his way to the coupe
With the roof gone
I got time and a half
Praise be to Allah
Ignored the fact that her stories dont add up
Like Scheherazade
In the song "One Thousand One Nights" by Billy Woods, the lyrics talk about a personal ad that was placed in the back of Times-Picayune. The singer of the song met a woman through the personal ad and felt very nervous and tongue-tied. The woman, on the other hand, exuded a cool demeanor with eyes the size of Olympic pools, which intrigued the singer. They sipped wine together and he imagined himself to have sophistication. Then, they went onto a sexual encounter, which the singer leaves out of detail, but doesn't seem to have any regret about it.
As the story progresses, the woman asks the singer what he is thinking, and he wonders what she knows. He talks about ignoring the fact that her stories don't add up like Scheherazade, which could be a reference to the legendary storyteller from One Thousand and One Nights. The singer seems to have satisfaction with the sexual encounter, but there is an underlying feeling of wondering what is actually happening or being hidden.
The song "One Thousand One Nights" has various references that allude to the Arabia folk tales of One Thousand and One Nights, also known as Arabian Nights. The lyrics seem to suggest that the singer is engaging with a woman, who could be potentially deceitful, just as some of the characters in the Arabian Nights tales were. The idea of Scheherazade being referenced suggests that there may be more to this story that hasn't been told or may be withheld in waves of storytelling, just as the character Scheherazade is known for.
Line by Line Meaning
Met her through a personal ad
I met this person through a personal ad.
Back of the Times-Picayune
The personal ad was posted in the Times-Picayune newspaper.
I was nervous tongue tied
I was anxious and had difficulty speaking.
She played it cool
The other person remained calm and composed.
Eyes the size of Olympic pools
Their eyes were notably wide and intimidating.
Still waters simple jewels
Their quietness belied their inner beauty.
Sipped wine with imagined sophistication
They pretended to have a refined palate when drinking wine.
Stormed the castle
They approached the situation aggressively.
Swam the moat
They overcame a significant obstacle.
A moments hesitation
They briefly paused to consider their next move.
Then took the pussy like a slaver boat
They had sex with the other person without their full consent, like a slave trader.
I left to make a sale
I abruptly ended the encounter to attend to business.
She stayed in bed
The other person remained in bed.
Soon as I returned crooked a finger
As soon as I returned, I signaled to the other person with a crooked finger.
Spread those legs
I instructed the other person to open their legs.
She can't suck dick worth shit
They were not skilled at performing oral sex.
The scale is digital
They were not good at oral sex according to modern, computerized standards.
But I ain't have the heart
I did not have the heart to tell them their performance was not good.
She asks me what I'm thinking
The other person asked me what was on my mind.
I'm wondering what she knows
I was curious about what the other person knew or suspected.
But she gots to have it
The other person was insistent on having sex.
Sackcloth & ashes
A term indicating deep shame or sorrow.
Victory has a thousand fathers
Success can have multiple people or factors that contributed to it.
Oliver Twist flipped his way to the coupe
A reference to the character of Oliver Twist from the novel of the same name.
With the roof gone
The roof of the car was removed.
I got time and a half
I was paid overtime for my work.
Praise be to Allah
Expression of gratitude or relief to Allah, the Islamic God.
Ignored the fact that her stories dont add up
I chose to overlook inconsistencies in the other person's stories.
Like Scheherazade
A reference to the character from 'One Thousand and One Nights' who kept a king entertained with nightly stories.
Writer(s): billy woods
Contributed by Riley M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.