Yelawolf

Yelawolf talks about his Trunk Muzik sequel like it's some sort of rebirth, like he's saying goodbye to Hollywood without ever getting there. Radioactive (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. "Manager wants me to do a song for the whole place, without a microphone, DJ and no stage," raps Yela on "Fame," detailing the circumstances that led him to snub L.A. Reid at Def Jam. Apparently, Yela travelled all the way from Alabama to meet with the labels, but when he got to NYC, his gut told him to forget it and go home broke. "Catfish Billy" is another lyrical jewel, if only for the astute descriptions of the 'Bama bush and Yela's rattling off of punk-like obscenities. Trunk Muzik Returns definitely shows a progression in the production; Yela is pursuing this intergalactic, Southern Space Jam feel, with laser-like synths firing from all corners. "F.A.S.T. Ride" features wavering synths, chipmunk ad-libs and 808s that might just blow your shitty-ass college sound system; its chorus screams for a proper automobile: "bumpin this funky-ass shit to ride to." Guest spots include phoned-in verses from Paul Wall and A$AP Rocky, while Big Henry delivers some confident bars on "Gangster." As far as content, Yela raps about riding in his Chevy, drinking, doing drugs and rap. Everything's about escaping rap as an industry, or as Yela refers to it, the soccer game — rappers represent the ball. Trunk Muzik Returns is badass, amped-up music to ride to — songs that make that suburban town car cringe when you pull up next to it at the light. In Canada, you might not see many Chevys on chrome, but as long as Olympus is falling, the South will keep on hittin' switches.