Yelawolf - Trunk Muzik 0-60 Interscope Review

Wayne Atha is a rap novelty — and not just because he's a white guy with a Flock of Seagulls haircut. He's a novelty in the best sense: an MC whose liquid flow breathes life into genre clichés. On his major-label debut, he raps from the POV of a rural underdog over music that shifts from rap rock to twitchy percussion. His verses are full of surprises: On "That's What We on Now," he rhymes "Bill Cosby sweater" with "Skinny Pimp, Petty and Eddie Vedder." And amid rants and party chants, there's an aching ballad, "Love Is Not Enough." Turns out, he's a sheep in wolf's clothing....full text This Alabama rapper is an amazing postmodern mutation: A grainy Southern-gothic Rob Zombie directing gut-punch 808s, spitting scattergun rhymes screwed to half-speed by his slinky white-boy drawl; a baby-faced, elaborately inked, AOR-bred dreamboat; and a hick-hop skate-punk American badass. But despite his eye-catching neck tats and shout-outs to Tom Petty, Yelawolf is first and foremost a gifted MC, a devilishly slow-flowing boondocks Eminem who recklessly peels off and accelerates into a disorienting blur of words straight from the Bone Thugs book of aggro-syllabics.

Following a series of well-received mixtapes, Yela's major-label debut creates a world of moonshine crunk, where hip-hop thrives in the beer-can-strewn gutter, the dirt road, the Waffle House, the backyard where Dad slaughters his breakfast. The trunk-denting bass drops, croaking synths, and groaning electro-grunge from producer Will Power give the proceedings even more of a backwoods headbanger edge.

But it's the storytelling that truly compels, with Yela painting familiar hip-hop subject matter in dusty, evocative, rural hues. His version of grinding is pushing crystal meth to the trailer park, popping bottles is sharing cold beer and a bag of airplane glue, balling is $20 on a Friday night, cruising is conning a rich girl to let him drive her daddy's Lamborghini. Or, as he says, "This ain't a figment of my imagination, buddy, this is where I live."...full text When it comes to Yelawolf, it’s difficult to avoid noting his appearance. Outside of Marshall Mathers, rap music and culture is quick to reject those of the fairer complexion. With his lanky frame, vast assortment of tattoos and domesticated mullet he resembles Denver Nuggets Power Forward Chris “Birdman” Anderson if he picked up rapping after being banned from the NBA for violating their substance abuse policy.

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In fact, Yelawolf & Birdman would probably get along handsomely. On Yelawolf’s debut LP Trunk Muzik 0-60 he raps that he is “trashed off the glue you built airplane models with…in the gutter like a PBR bottle is.” His lyrics of substance abuse continue to highlight his predilection for down-south mainstays like moonshine, methamphetamines and cannabis. And that’s only scraping the surface.

Though a relatively new name in the game, his big break coming on the Andre 3000-produced Big Boi single You Ain’t No DJ last year, Yelawolf has already lived a couple of lives. He was born in deep south Alabama, but has lived in Atlanta, Alaska, California, New York, Louisiana and Tennessee. Before giving rap a go, he was a professional skateboarder and even a commercial fisherman.

At 30 years old, it’s experiences like being in 12 different schools through elementary school and running drugs that have shaped his wholly original rap style. Yelawolf is to redneck south as NWA was to Compton; as Eminem was to 8 mile. Think Confederate flags, Nascar racing, and meth labs....full text