Articles Tagged with: yelawolf
Yelawolf rolls through the KarmaloopTV studio to discuss his new video Pop the Trunk, his Alabama roots, and his musical inspirations.
YelaWolf performed songs of his latest Mixtape “Trunk Muzik” live in Beverly Hills during Grammy Weekend! Shouts to DJ Hot Sauce.
Looks can be deceiving, but blown-out speakers don’t lie. Though much has been made of
YelaWolf ‘s unconventional appearance – he’s white, covered in ink and looks more like a punk rocker than your average emcee… – it’s the Alabama up-and-comer’s fresh, attention-grabbing sound that’s got the ‘net buzzing and subwoofers rattling across the nation. Drawing from classic rock, old-school rap, and the quintessentially Southern style of acts like OutKast and Three Six, Yela comes with a hard-edged brand of Trunk Muzik as innovative as it is bass-heavy.
Having racked up reader accolades for tracks like “Pop the Trunk,” Raekwon collabo “I Wish” and exclusive freestyle “Dirt Road,” as well as making guest appearances on records by the widely-renowned likes of Juelz Santana (“Mixing Up the Medicine”) and Slim Thug (“I Run”) YelaWolf recently took his hustle to the next level with the January 1, release of his Booth-sponsored Trunk Muzik mixtape. Available here for streaming and free download, the street album has gotten Yela recognized in the Booth and beyond as one of the South’s fastest-rising stars.
In an exclusive interview with our own DJ “Z,” YelaWolf steps into the Booth to discuss his feelings on the inevitable Eminem comparisons, the unfortunate state of his Chevy and just how excited he is to perform alongside OutKast DJ Cutmaster Swift at this year’s SXSW festival.
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If you don’t know Yelawolf is, he sang the hook on Slim Thug’s monster smash ‘I Run‘ last year. Be on the lookout for this dude next year, he’s definitely one to watch on the come up.
Houston, Texas’ own, Slim Thug steps in for the latest exclusive Industry Interview for THE3XGP.COM! Slim Thug talked to Rick From Chicago about his long awaited sophomore album, why he left Geffen Records, the best places to grab grub in his hometown, what his next single will be, Lupe Fiasco and much more!
RFC: If we can rewind for a minute, originally the lead single for Boss of All Bosses was the DJ Toomp produced cut ‘Theme Song (Hoggs On The Grind)’. One year later, you’re on a new label with an even hotter heater, ‘I Run.’ You’ve had more success with ‘I Run’ than any other single you’ve pushed at urban and rhythmic radio. What do you think is the reason for that?
Slim Thug: It’s a hot song for one. And then number two, I think I’m really with a staff that’s really working, you know what I’m saying? I tell a lot of people on the road in my interviews that I’ve been doing , I was at Geffen/Interscope which is a big label and they had a lot of problems. I never believed things were on the same page, and they weren’t really fighting for me. The initial staff that I signed to had all got fired, from my A&R to the whole staff. They changed they whole staff at Geffen. And the new staff, I never got on the same page with them. I tried to do what I could, but we just never got on the same page. I dunno if they just didn’t believe in me as an artist or whatever, but it just never worked. I think that now I am at Koch (Now called E1 Music) , they believe in the music , they actually working and putting it out there and it’s working. I think that’s the reason why the song has so much success.
RFC: The lead single ‘I Run’ is produced by the ultra talented Jim Jonsin and features a sample from the 1982 hit, ‘I Ran (So Far Away)‘ by the group A Flock Of Seagulls. How did this come about, did Jim have this beat in mind specifically for you?
Slim Thug: Yeah, I give all credit to Jim Jonsin. He was at the Ozone Awards in Houston and I told him that I wanted to work with him. And we went to the studio, he played the beat to me and I loved the beat. He had a few ideas for me and ran it by me. We got Yelawolf from Alabama and he sung the hook. It was then a wrap and I just added a few verses on it as well. I give all the credit in the world to Jim Jonsin.
Slim Thug – I Run (2009)
RFC: Are you a big video game fan?
Slim Thug: I got all the video games, I play with my sons every once in a while. I don’t play a whole lot, but I do know that the original track was on Grand Theft Auto IV: Vice City.
RFC: 4 years ago, your debut album Already Platinum had an impressive 129,000 copies sold in first week sales. It was an incredible body of work but only managed to hit Gold status. Back then you were on the majors and today you are now running back on the independent scene. Is there any pressure to prove to those who doubted that you could not succeed at the major’s level?
Slim Thug: Nah it ain’t really nothing like that. I never get caught up in the try to prove stuff to people. You know more than anything, I just wanna do me and satisfy the people who got love for me know what I’m saying? Because I’ve been living pretty good off of them (his core audience) alone even before I had the (record) deal. I got a huge enough fan base that’s underground to the point where I’m cool you know what I’m saying? I never was really in search of a deal like that anyways, it just happened by default. I never really get caught up in all that doubtness, I’m just trying to my music and hopefully the fans who’ve been down with me since day one like it and I gain a few more.
RFC: I’ve heard the new album will be a return to your signature Houston sound that you are so very well known for. Were you able to secure Pharrell for a record on Boss of All Bosses or is this album going in another direction?
Slim Thug: It’s another direction. I definitely wanted to work with Pharrell and he wanted to work with me on this. But he be out of the country so much, we could never get on the same page and get that one record. We traded a few beats but we couldn’t get that one hit record. And then when I met him at the Grammy’s, he had one for me and he was like, let’s do it but it was kinda too late. By then we had to turn in the record to the label. I will definitely get him on the next album, ‘cause the minute I see him, we gonna do some records together.
RFC: You’ve recorded over 200 songs for this project. What’s the best technique to narrow the song selection process that makes the final track listing on the album?
Slim Thug: Aw man, it’s a lot that goes with it. Honestly when you’re independent, a lot goes towards the budget. And number two is the sample issue. Some of my favorite songs, I couldn’t get the samples cleared. For example, I had released a record called ‘Fuck You’ and that was my favorite record. And we couldn’t get the sample cleared because they didn’t want us talking all that shit on their sample. So that shit comes into effect, the producers, working with different artists (how hard is it going to be to get them cleared from their labels). I don’t want to get into all that but at the end of the day, I think picked 15 songs that were without a lot of all that (above problems listed). I’m basing this on one song that I really just loved that I didn’t put on there (the new album). But all these other records I loved on the album were the ones that I really loved.
Boss Hogg Outlawz – Back By Blockular Demand: Serve & Collect II was released on Tuesday, September 02, 2008.
RFC: If you Wikipedia your name, it says that your crew the Boss Hogg Outlawz name was coined from the television show Dukes of Hazzard. Are there any TV shows that you watch today that you can’t miss?
Slim Thug: I was just talking to somebody about that. And I don’t have nothing that I keep in touch with, television wise. I may see a few episodes here and there, but I don’t have specific TV show that I keep up on the regular like that. You know what I’m saying? I don’t really sit down that much.
RFC: We’ve heard 4 songs featuring Akon (‘Please Don’t Do That’), Mannie Fresh (‘Show Me Love’), Smile and most recently the new one with Paul Wall (‘Drop Top’). What’s your next single that you plan to follow up to ‘I Run?’
Slim Thug: I really don’t even know man. I got a few in mind. I like to let the people make the decisions more than anything. Because with me, I have so many records that are honestly… it’s so hard for me to pick what is what. I like to have my fans pick have their opinion and pick them.
Slim Thug video blogging
RFC: ‘Hip-Hop Saved My Life‘ was penned by Lupe Fiasco with the lyrics being inspired by your rap career. I’ve heard you’ve said that Lupe took pieces of your hustle and put it into a song. How does it feel to have recognition among your peers in the industry?
Slim Thug: It’s nothing but love man. Lupe, he’s a cool dude. I’m a fan of his music and for him to reach out do that track based on what I did in the game is real big. To see somebody else in the music game recognize my hustle and be inspired by it, that’s definitely love. Shout to Lupe, no doubt.
RFC: Here’s a little trivia for you Mr. Thuggggga. What do Bruce Springsteen, George Steinbrenner, Rick Ross and Slim Thugg all have in common?
Slim Thug: We all bosses! (Laughs)
RFC: Slim, I’ve never been to Houston, in your opinion what’s the best nightclub out there and where’s the best place to get food late night after you hit the club?
Slim Thug: The best club to me is the club downtown, The Office. I’m in there all the time. And the best spot to get food at…if you want to get breakfast, there’s Breakfast Klub. And of course there’s Papa Joes, that’s what it is.
RFC: Today (March 09) is the anniversary death of The Notorious B.I.G. Your debut album had a track ‘Ashy To Classy.’ My question is, did Biggie’s music up in the east have an impact to those in the south when he was on top of the game?
Slim Thug: Oh yeah it did definitely, same as the west coast. Music just influences everybody man. I definitely listened to Biggie and a lot of other cats from the east coast. And I was inspired by them from cats like Jay-Z.
RFC: A few months ago we saw you do a video blog in the studio talking about the importance of the Internet and having a strong digital presence, even citing Soulja Boy and Diddy as references. It seems that back in the day, all you had to do was have a mixtape and the buzz was good. But to build a heavy buzz now, you’ve got to have a stronger presence with the online community. What’s your take on that?
Slim Thug: That’s definitely true man. Actually I was in the studio joking around, I didn’t think it was gonna be put out. But you definitely gotta have a strong Internet presence because everybody is in tuned with that. More people look at the Internet for your music video than they do even on TV. They’d rather have reality shows and all that type of stuff on the music channels. So the Internet is key to a lot of artists’ success, I definitely think you need that.
Already Platinum was released on Tuesday, July 12, 2005.
RFC: Your first album was titled Already Platinum and now you got the Boss of All Bosses LP coming out March 24. All of your album title names stand out and speak volumes. Do you already know what your next album title will be?
Slim Thug: Nooo, I’m thinking about it right now though man. I was just thinking about that. Do you got any ideas? (Laughs)
RFC: I have no clue man…But I’m sure any decision you make is gonna be a good one.
Slim Thug: Yeah man. I dunno what it is, but I’ll think of somethin’ real good though.
RFC: What have you done differently with Boss of All Bosses that you didn’t do on Already Platinum? Because I read an XXL interview last year where you said from a sales point of view, “it’s gonna be the music that’s going to be blamed if [the album] doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.”
Slim Thug: Yeah. Because on this album here, I just really did me man and brought it back to my roots . It ended up being a record where I’m trying to put my city on, be a strong part of the Houston movement and bring back that movement in a strong way. So I wanted to paint the perfect visual of my city but not just from Swishahouse. And when I say Swishahouse I mean me, Mike (Jones), Paul Wall and Chamillionaire. I wanted to work with cats like the S.U.C. (Screwed Up Click) and I wanted to work with legends in the game like UGK, Scarface you know what I’m saying? You know just anybody who was a big part of the Houston movement, I wanted to get on my record and at the same time I got cats you probably never heard of. There’s new artists and I love them and I just wanted to paint the perfect picture of Houston as whole. Not just one part of it.
RFC: Right now I’d like to do a little word association with you. I’ll mention to you some names or words and whatever comes to mind, you can respond back with a short answer that best sums it up ok?
Slim Thug: Alright.
Slim Thug Word Association
Boss Hogg Outlawz: That’s my gang.
Still Tippin’: That’s how we roll in Texas.
Interscope/Geffen Records: (Laughs)…The past!
Candy Paint: Gotta have it.
3 Kings: A hood classic.
WrestleMania 25 (In his hometown this year): I’m not in tuned (Laughs). I don’t know nothing about wrestling. I ain’t watch wrestling since I was a kid. Last wrestler I seen wrestle was Hulk Hogan on some shit!
Mr. Boomtown (Video director for ‘I Run’): He paints the perfect picture of Houston.
www.immahogg.com: The best website in the world.
RFC: Before we conclude, are there any shouts, plugs or websites you’d like to give right now?
Slim Thug: Just the album in stores March 24th, log onto immaghogg.com, myspace.com/slimthug and there it is, just stay down.
RFC: Alright Slim Thug, thank you for taking the time to talk with THE3XGP.COM, we wish you continued success when your new album drops.
Slim Thug: Appreciate it homie.
Slim Thug ft. T.I. & Bun B – 3 Kings (2005)
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