Yelawolf
Interview by Black Dog Bone
A lot of rappers try to be like other big name artists, and they all start sounding the same. That’s where they go wrong. What I like about you is you don’t do that. You keep it 100% Yelawolf.
In music period, not just Hip Hop. It’s all music. Imitation alone will only take you so far. Even when you combine imitations it will only go so far. You have to be 100% you. It takes a while. Every artist really starts off imitating. That’s how you learn how to do this shit, you imitate other rappers, imitate other singers. Whatever it is you choose to do, you
study other artists. Then you start to create your own style. The point is to develop your own style. I don’t judge other artists, like 15-16 year old artists, cause they’re still in the making.
At what point in your life did you feel that you found the Yelawolf sound?
I was living in a trailer park in Huntsville, Alabama called Graceland Estates. I was working with this artist named 6 Tre. I had just done this project called “Creek Water” out of my basement. I made the beats, I did all the vocals. I wrote,, recorded it myself, mixed it myself. Everything out of my room. Up until then I was really monotone; I had not just projected my voice. I hadn’t got angry, but I was livin in the trenches. I was so afraid of people comparing me to Eminem at that time because honestly I had so much in common with him materialistically. But I knew I needed my own space to tell my story. When I moved to this trailer park I was workin with this dude named 6 Tre. I was in the booth and I was laughing. He said like, “You got plenty of shit to be mad about. Why don’t you just snap, man? Stop holdin back. Don’t be afraid of what people might say. Let loose, man, let loose. Go!” When I did that it just flipped the switch. I heard a voice in me that I’d never heard before. I never really looked back. I found this extra country, extra honest person inside of me. Conceptually I was touching on it, but I didn’t really take it all the way there. This “Creek Water”, the title was centered on nature and conceptually I was hitting on it, but I hadn’t really tapped it fully until I moved out there. I was workin at a match company, just tiring days, smokin roaches in my trailer. My life was really fucked up. I just decided to lose it and I did. It turned into this song and a mixtape called “Pissin In A Barrel of Beez”. After that I ended up doing a song called “White Boy From Alabama” and that was the song that pretty much lead into the rest of my career. It was like: this is who I am, fuck the world!
You really found Yelawolf when you were at the bottom. Everything was going wrong. You were at the end of the line.
That’s when it all started to unfold. I was so enlightened. I was around my boys who I’d been around all the time. You gotta understand, before that I was just a producer. I was just makin beats for all the people around me. They didn’t really take my rap shit serious. I grew up with a buncha dope boys. The first setup that I had in my career was funded by one of my best friends—my endorser was a dope boy. He was always tellin me, “You’re the next Manny Fresh. Keep makin them beats, makin them beats, makin them beats.” I would pump beats out for the all the hood. I was that spot. Come see me, give me a hundred bucks , I’ll give you a beat, record you. But I always wanted to rap, that’s what I wanted to do. Then when I found my voice, my real voice, I really started payin attention to what I was doin.
While you were making beats you did everything on your own in the studio?
I did everything on my own, cause I had to make some money and I could never hold a job. I was always being creative and slackin off on the job, getting late or whatever, cussin out the boss, whatever it is. I could never keep a job, so I had to hustle.
Your album is dropping real soon. What can we expect from “Radioactive”?
I just locked down in the studio in Las Vegas with my team and we just zoned out. We made records that were more internationally inspired rather than regionally inspired records. We’re steppin out there. “Radioactive” is pretty much the next stage of my life’s work.
I heard you’re working with Diplo on this new album. How did that come about?
I met him at Coachella. I was there doing a show with DJ Craze and DJ Klever. I met Diplo backstage and to my surprise he was familiar with my music. I was a fan of his. We exchanged numbers and started communicating, started tossing back and forth ideas. I was in Atlanta and he shot me a beat. He said, “This is a game changer.”
That’s what the email said. When I opened it up I was blown away. I wrote to it immediately, recorded it, sent it back to him. Honestly that song was recorded months and months before we started “Radioactive”. But I knew I had a record for the album. It’s a crazy record. We blended styles. He put his shit into it, and then it gets really crunk, really good collaboration.
Who else are you planning to work with?
I’m ready to work with anybody who I’m a fan of. I’m a fan of a lotta different people. I just wanna cross genres. I wanna do it tastefully. I don’t wanna do it corny. Or I don’t wanna do a record just because a muthafucka’s hot. But you know the state that the Rap game is in now, it’s really really corny with the feature game. I take pride on doin features based on being a fan and what actually fits the song. Are we gonna make a great record by coming together or are we coming together just because you are who you are and I am who I am? I’d love to work with M.I.A., hell yeah. A lotta people from M.I.A. to Kris Kristofferson. Honestly I’m a fan of a lotta nice music, but the goal and the challenge is to make it tasteful and make it still fit in your world. You’re stepping out on a real thin rod and you can make a corny record real easily if you’re not careful when you’re crossing genres.
One thing I liked about your last album was the deep dark southern feeling you captured. Is that in this new album as well?
Of course. Even on “Trunk Muzik” if you compare “Pop the Trunk” to “Trunk Muzik” the title track or “Pop the Trunk” to “Love is not Enough” or “ I Just Wanna Party”, there’s always a sense of the Blues in there. But everything I’m gonna do is gonna be different. I’m human. As much as I can get angry or tell dark stories or talk about something that’s fucked up that happened in my past, I also laugh, I also enjoy my life. I also might get upset, I might cry. I might fucking wanna rage out and throw a fuckin bottle or something. I’m human. My job is to be honest. So it doesn’t matter if I write a song about selling drugs or if I write a song about being in love, if I’m honest about it then the listener can’t ask anymore from me. What they feel more is up to them. I’m just making music that’s honest, that’s all. And fun too. At the end of the day I wanna make music that people can enjoy. That is not so personal that it alienates. It’s a lot to be an artist.
You said the Diplo track got you real excited and you wrote it immediately. Were there other tracks on this album that moved you in that way?
The whole album came together like that. We recorded “Radioactive” in like a week and a half. We were in Vegas for 2 weeks, but some days we’d just chill. We weren’t in no rush. The records just came and they were all exciting. We’re sitting on around 22-23 songs and we have to cut down to 12. That’s super hard to do.
How are you going to decide which twelve to use for “Radioactive”?
I just have to have a pow wow with the squad. And I have to be fully invested in it. Some songs get voted out, and some songs get voted in. Overall I’m really happy with the songs that came together. We’ll also have some X files, some songs that didn’t make the album, some extras, some releases coming out later.
Can you name some of the songs that really stand out to you?
From “Radioactive”? Ah, I’m not givin out no titles, man! Naw man. Right now it’s all about “Hard White”. That’s my first single and that’s where all my focus is right now. There are songs that are very special to me on “Radioactive”, but you’ll have to wait until the track list is confirmed. Then you can call me up and ask me what’s my favorite song.
I like interviewing you because you tell stories. In your music you tell stories too.
Yeah, I like telling stories. It’s fun. I grew up on that kinda shit.
Where are you right now? Are you on the road touring?
I’m on the road, headed down to Miami.
Your life has changed a lot since you first started making music. You’re travelling all over the world, meeting different people. We’ll probably get a whole different Yelawolf with this new album.
I don’t think so, really. I have lived enough to have material for the rest of my life. Plenty of things to talk about. Even in this record the single I got, “Hard White” is a complete stab at club life. I hate clubs. “Up in the club, don’t give a fuck”. It’s still me.
What about the sound? You say it’s more internationally influenced. Has your sound changed.
Conceptually with all the mixtapes I put out they’ve been conceptually driven. All of them. If you look back at all the mixtapes I’ve put out, they’re all conceptually driven. People can always expect me to evolve. That’s one thing that you can count on, for me to grow and be better. The album is striving to be better.
When you hear this new album are you happy with the way it came out? How do you feel about it?
I feel accomplished and very proud of my album. It’s a good album that I stand behind. It came together beautifully from all the hard work. It’s radioactive. I’m excited about it.
This is your introduction to the world. It’s your big release.
This is my first release on a major label. “0-60” was a re-release of “Trunk Muzik”, which was a free mixtape.
When we last spoke you had just been signed . How do you feel now? Do you wish you were still back in the South like it used to be?
I’m happy about where I’m at. I’m busy. There are days I remember when I was pacing my house on South 11th Street. Hoppin in my car and driving to Birmingham to sell CD’s outta my trunk by myself. I’m happy and blessed to be able to do this right now.
Sometimes you probably missed those days though?
Anybody who works hard looks forward to breaks and chillin. But you only have so much time to take advantage of this situation.
It’s your time right now. I feel like you’re going to be the next big thing. Do you feel that?
That’s what I’m striving for, but I don’t put too much on it. I’m proud of the music I’m makin. The shows that I’m doin, more and more people are startin to show up. It’s a very genuine response from people, very genuine fans. That’s all I could ask for. We’ll see where it goes.
You’ve been touring a lot?
Yeah. I haven’t stopped moving for a long time. I did the European tour. After that I did the Warped Tour. The Warped Tour was great, man! Europe was life changing, the Warped Tour was life changing. We went straight from the Warped Tour and I’ve been on this radio promo run. It’s non-stop.
What kind of response did you get in Europe?
It’s been great. Sold out shows out there in Paris, both shows in Norway, sold out show in London. It was great. The rest of the run people came out and it was really really dope. I opened up for Wu Tang three times. It was incredible opening up for Wu Tang. The crowds, old Wu Tang fans, didn’t know what to think about me.
I’m sure they liked you. You have a unique feel. I don’t know what it is.
It’s just being honest. Anyone who’s brutally honest is gonna be naturally different. We’re all different. Every single person on this planet is very different from each other. If you’re very very honest it’s going to make you different.
