Yelawolf - Trunk Muzik 3


Yelawolf
Trunk Muzik 3
2019
Spotify

Yelawolf has always been a bit of an enigma when it comes to hip hop. He has sought to be the heir apparent for Slim Shady, the record label He has been signed to for the past eight years. He references Shady records multiple times on the album and it appears like He is looking for another trip around with them, hoping this album pops. The problem is his brand of trailer park rap is so narrow, and so pandering that there is no chance anyone outside of the Alabama borders is going to give a shit. "Catfish Billy 2" lays it all out as Yelawolf says He is a down home Southern guy, but also from the trap. He wants to square his style with a style that simply is not his and you can sense it from moment one. "Rowdy" doubles down on this with a Machine Gun Kelly feature, likely not Eminem's favorite. The two rappers fumble through a clean distinct beat, but then do nothing but complain and bluster. They have this chip on their shoulder like they aren't getting a fair shake in the rap game because of their skin color, but the fact is the reason people hate them is because they constantly pander. Yelawolf has such a specific target for his music it leaves little room for anyone else to come on board. Then there is the absurdly heartfelt "Drugs" that tries to lay out Yelawolf's long history with doing any and every kind of drug, but it is so overly sappy and insane.

The thing about Yelawolf is not that He He is portraying a world that is foreign to his listeners, it's that the world He claims to live in doesn't even really exist. "Trailer Park Hollywood" this ridiculous claim that despite his "fame" He is still bringing the Trailer Park to Beverly Hills. He just goes on to describe every "white trash" trope He can possibly mention in just under four minutes. You keep waiting for him to have any kind of personality that is not entirely predictable but that never occurs. The real travesty here is that some of these beats are actually pretty fucking fresh. "No Such Thing as Free" has this truly wild and Indian inspired trap beat that sounds wonderful. It is almost good enough to make up for Yelawolf's anemic flow, but not quite. Sure He can rap fast, that is not up for debate, but when what you are saying doesn't actually mean anything who gives a shit? That is where you always end up when you listen to a Yelawolf album, questioning who can possibly care for and care about this music. However there is a lid for every pot so I am sure someone out there is clamoring for this thing, that person sure as hell ain't me though.

4.0 out of 10

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