★★★★★
Very few things can make a Northerner pine for a visit to a small town in the Deep South: Flannery O'Connor novels, quality barbecue, and an itch to jump the General Lee over a police road block. Yelawolf's second solo mixtape, Trunk Muzik Returns can now be added to that list. TMR is just as true to the Dirty as drinking warm beer on your front porch. There is a specific swagger to small town Southern hip-hop. Yelawolf, along with peers Big K.R.I...
- www.syffal.com
2013-05-14
★★★★★
There has been a temptation to view Yelawolf as a bit of a laughing stock recently; once touted for great things, before swerving into Kid Rock's lane in the hope of scoring a commercial hit. That's not intended as a dig, because he would tell you as much himself. He proudly pronounced his debut album Radioactive was titled such due to its intentions of being "active on the radio", and if that had worked out you feel that he would have happily traded in his early critical praise alongside any...
- thequietus.com
2013-04-04
★★★★★
Yelawolf talks about his sequel like it's some sort of rebirth, like he's saying goodbye to Hollywood without ever getting there. (Yela's studio debut from 2011) lost him a fair share of fans as soon as they saw Fefe Dobson on the credits. Here, Yela reassures us he's done trying to make radio hits. Technically, his bars sound sharp as ever; even to a critical listener the double-timed, crisp-as-a-typewriter flows sail over your head...
- exclaim.ca
2013-06-25
★★★★★
With the ingredients of a record label's wet dream, Yelawolf continues in the grand white-trash tradition of mentor and label boss Eminem. Cementing his persona, the Alabama wordsmith has a thick country twang and tattoos. After several acclaimed mixtapes, Yela adapts his formula to the grand stage that has birthed the likes of 50 Cent on his Shady Records maiden voyage, titled Radioactive. Whether he succeeds or not depends on what you appreciate about his style...
- www.beat.com.au
2012-03-07
★★★★★
The recent signings of rapper Yelawolf and super-group Slaughterhouse have sparked renewed excitement about Shady Records among hip-hop fans. The Shady 2.0 BET Cypher at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards displayed Yelawolf, the fearsome Slaughterhouse foursome- Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Royce da 5'9", Crooked I along with Eminem trading lyrical bombs to the awe of viewers around the world...
- rapreviews.com
2011-12-22
★★★★★
Despite Yelawolf's distinctive personality and voice, Radioactive is pretty much what any other major label debut is these days. Well-produced, if not even a little ambitious, and fine tuned. It's littered with oddly--if not even poorly--sung hooks from the likes of Kid Rock, Pooh Bear (aka MDMA) and Fefe Dobson among others...
- www.popmatters.com
2011-12-15
★★★★★
Our underground heroes fail us so consistently when they move to major labels that it hardly feels like a valid gripe anymore. Is there even any validity in hoping for an underground artist to retain his distinctive charms? Do major label albums after free and indie releases ever add up to a significant artistic achievement? How much blame can we really lay at the feet of the super producer brought in to make things more radio-friendly...
- www.prefixmag.com
2011-12-12
★★★★★
With the possible exception of promiscuous sex, nothing good happens overnight. While it may seem like Yelawolf's gone from virtual unknown to Eminem protégé overnight, the man's actually been at this hip-hop thing for years. In fact, most people (everyone too lazy to check Wikipedia) don't know that this is Yela's second time swimming in major label waters; his first deal with Columbia dissolved with only one retrospectively fascinating video, Kickin, to show for it...
- www.djbooth.net
2011-12-07
★★★★★
With a catalogue stretching back to 2005's self-released collection Creek Water, it's perhaps surprising that Alabama-based rapper Yelawolf (born Michael Atha) has taken until now to reveal his debut album proper. (There have been mixtapes and EPs, but nothing more substantial.) But as its generally positive reception stateside illustrates, Radioactive has largely been worth the wait...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2013-04-23
Loading...
