Radioactive
Hailing from rural Alabama, Yelawolf has gone from perpetually struggling, under-underground emcee to critical darling with a major-label deal and huge budget in just a few short years. *Radioactive* is his first big release (he dropped *Creek Water* in 2005, and also has a bunch of mixtapes to his credit). This pairs him up with a gang of superstars, such as Kid Rock (\"Let\'s Roll\"), Lil Jon (\"Hard White\"), and Killer Mike (\"Slumerican Shitizen\"). Stylistically, he comes with an angsty, machine-gun flow strikingly similar to Eminem (who signed him to Shady Records and also appears on the excellent \"Throw It Up\"), with hard rock and country-flavored tracks backing lyrics about small-town living, trailer park poverty, dues paid, and a lifetime of struggle. With its ultra-slick production (from Will Power, Diplo, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, and Jim Jonsin), and a co-sign from Mr. Shady himself, there\'s no doubt that Yelawolf could be very, very big. Don\'t miss \"Good Girl,\" \"Animal,\" and the autobiographical closer, \"The Last Song.\"
On Yelawolf's major label debut-- featuring guest spots from Eminem, Mystikal, Killer Mike, and Kid Rock, among others-- the Alabama rapper's attempts at crossing over make a potentially great album go off the rails.
Yelawolf made no attempt to soften his hard-partying, meth-pushing, white-trash persona on last year’s major-label debut, Trunk Muzik, and on his follow-up for Eminem’s Shady Records, Radioactive, the quick-tongued rapper is again on his worst behavior. He drives drunk. He yells at stuck-up women. He litters. “I might…
For many, Yelawolf is hip-hop’s great white hope. His start-stop flow resembles an unwinding sandbag accelerating from…