Yelawolf Rapfix Interview (Talks Eminem,Shady Deal And More)

[djdixie]

the think with slaughterhouse is that their rhymes have been dope all the time but the beats arnt "album chart worthy" if you know what i mean

[Hiphopdane]

he wont last at shady records coz he wont sell shit.

I'm more of that opinion with Slaughterhouse. I seriously doubt Slaughterhouse will be able to pull off big numbers without the absolute inclusion of Eminem into the proceedings, to the point where he may as well be an unofficial number.

Also, as great of rappers as they all are in Slaughterhouse, as a collective - they're hardly doing anything new, groundbreaking or even slightly different from what has been done. Punchline tracks about how big their dicks are, and how well they can spit and endless puns to do with rap, microphones and their own names are unlikely to sell in a mainstream market and unless they can find some kind of way of flipping it, or... creating original concepts outside of what they've done I can't see any big success happening.

Where as, Yelawolf is actually bringing something different. Firstly, he has a lot of genuine rock and grunge influence - he's quite clearly a student of genres other than hip-hop and that's not entirely typical in hip-hop. I also think everybody is going to be surprised by what he does with his album and I think he will be able to achieve success (big success) without Eminem.

From listening to all of his mixtapes, he's able to flip his style (and voice, since it's obvious that's a pet peeve of yours) in multiple ways; he can make it rap rock, grunge rap (if that even exists), or sometimes even sound like a white B.o.B. He can sing pretty well, he can write monster hooks and plays off his own image with a sarcasm not unlike some of Eminem's past humour.

So... I can absolutely see the possibility of Yelawolf selling big and if all you've heard from him is a few verses here and there and you've made a snap judgement I'd urge you to check out his mixtapes. I can absolutely see him writing some monster hits within and outside of hip-hop, that connect with rock and other audiences, and I think that he has that 'spark' that I haven't seen from a rapper in a while.

He's much more likely to be successful on a big scale than Slaughterhouse, in my opinion.

Agree with this. Especially the parts about Slaughterhouse being a "punchline group" and Yelawolf being a product of more than just one genre. Yelawolf also has a much more interesting image than Slaughterhouse has managed to make for themselves so far. He represents the south to the fullest and according to himself he will continue to do so on his upcoming album - I think a lot of fans appreciate that, not just people from the south, but also people from other regions who are into the heart and spirit of the genre.

Having said that their first album sold a little less than 20k first week and I think it is safe to say that the next album will sell at least 50k now that they're rocking with Eminem and getting much more promotion than before. 50k is still very good when they lyrically have like zero commercial appeal.

[TheGentlePlayer]

It's not just about selling

[EminemBase]

It's not just about selling

It's not just about selling, and as a fan it's not about selling at all. But for the label, and as a CEO of a label it absolutely has to be about selling. Almost first and foremost.

Eminem is trying to combine credibility and sales, as many hip-hop artists do, which is a much harder task than either one alone.

But, unfortunately, due to us still being governed, run and solely influenced by bronze-aged thinking (bartering / monetary system): even art has been reduced to business at its most primary function. Artists who can juggle the two, and be incredibly respected critically as well as producing massive commercial success (Eminem, Tarantino etc.) are rare.

It would be so great if it weren't at all about sales, it would mean no bar, limitation or restriction on creativity in any sense. Total and utter unprecedented creative freedom. But for that to happen our current system is going to have to collapse to see sense and re-structure, as it's too rigid, part of our consciousness and self-fulfilling to change by itself. And by 'it' I'm referring to our 'system' as a collective of people in it, and the structures it creates: politics, economy etc.

[Rash J]

Nice to hear the part where Em helped Yelawolf with his drinking prob