Although Yelawolf may be buzzing in the South because of the release of their critically acclaimed Trunk area Muzik mixtape (which has since been rereleased on Interscope Records because Trunk Muzik: 0-60), he didn’t capture the attention of the majority of the U. S. until his show – stealing Cyphers within consecutive years in the BET Hip Hop Awards. Combine together with his union with Eminem and Slaughterhouse, and Yelawolf suddenly has probably the most hyped releases this 4th quarter. Along with Radioactive, his Official first offering from his Shady Record release, Yelawolf appears to be aiming more for that crossover appeal compared to normal trunk-rattling song that he’s known for.
Don’t have it twisted at all; Radioactive still includes a few songs which resemble his old music, such as “Get Away” (with Shawty Fatt as well as Mystikal), the speaker-friendly “Hard White” with Lil’ Jon (because you really don’t realize how much bass that song has until you have speakers), and even “Throw It Up” with Gangsta Boo and Eminem. However, most of the songs listed here are more content-driven than in the past, and they might be what ultimately makes or breaks or cracks Radioactive.
Songs like “Growin’ Up in the Gutta” and “Made in the U. S. The. ” have powerful social commentary, from Yelawolf narrating about a girl being subjected to physical contact early by her stepdad, to illustrating the various facets of life in the U.S. The most potent from the bunch with an assist from Killer Mike: “Slumerican Shitizen” serves like a sharp, pointed view a bit more extreme than the earlier mentioned topics, although it’s in the same vein.
Yelawolf never waivers in their flows and appears to mesh with whatever style of beat that the track requires him to (and the production switches seriously throughout Radioactive), and also the features are solid too. Not too many people can say they’ve experienced Eminem, Gangsta Boo, kid Rock, Mystikal, and Fefe Dobson on a single album in their lifetime, if any.
Nevertheless, the amount of chances (ahem, radio singles) which Yelawolf and Shady Records take this album is nearly maddening. There never appears to be a flow towards the album, and it comes off as more as a schizophrenic compilation associated of songs than actual real Shady Records project. Yelawolf is definitely one of the best rappers to come out of Alabama in a very long time, and is one of the best technical rappers I’ve heard in the last few years (check the feature on Travis Barker’s “Let’s Go” for proof of that), but I’m not exactly sure if this is the album that his fans had in mind when he signed with Eminem.
