Rating: 7.5 / 10
Gadsen, Alabama, isn’t a place you would expect one of the next prominent rap artists to rise from, but Yelawolf isn’t exactly what you’d expect from a rap artist. Although his image gives off a rock-skater vibe that even infiltrates his musical style at times, there’s no doubt when he opens his mouth that his rap flow and presence on the microphone exceeds most of his peers. After finally inking with Interscope Records, being cosigned by several prominent figures such as Eminem, Raekwon, and Shaquille O’Neal, building buzz by being associated with acts such as Big Boi and Juelz Santana, and delivering one of the show-stealing verses on this year’s BET Hip-Hop Award cipher, Yelawolf’s mixtape-turned-album Trunk Muzik: 0 – 60 is quietly being released to little fanfare. Although it’s not being advertised as much as other artists, it’s still a great debut from a potential superstar in the making.
Yelawolf’s diverse approach to rhyming is one of his calling cards, and he shows off his different rhyme schemes throughout the twelve tracks on the LP. From his rock-influenced slow flow on “Get The F**k Up” and “Marijuana”, to his unorthodox flow on “That’s What We On Now”, to his well-polished rapid-fire flows on “Good to Go” and “Trunk Muzik”, Yelawolf impressively varies his flow on almost every track to mesh with whatever beat he’s rapping over. The production here is strong as well; Trunk Muzik manages to keep it fresh without letting up on your speakers or sounding generic.
The album features also make things interesting. Gucci Mane delivers a surprisingly strong verse in “I Just Want To Party,” Bun B bites Yelawolf’s rapid-fire flow successfully in “Good To Go”, Ritz The Rapper accompanies Yela on “Box Chevy”, and Raekwon gives Yelawolf one of the biggest cosigns in recent history in “I Wish.” Aside from these tracks however, Yelawolf keeps the features light, handling most of the rapping duties solo.
Although the album isn’t lengthy at all only being 12 tracks, and a couple of the songs are dated from earlier this year (“Pop the Trunk”), this is still a more than dope album. Yelawolf holds his own throughout with impressive flows, trunk-rattling beats, and a few high-caliber cameos, making Trunk Muzik 0 – 60 well worth the price of admission.
