Radioactive

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Radioactive album cover
Album Information
EXPLICIT

Total Tracks: 15   Total Length: 57:27

eMusic Review 0

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Ashley Melzer

eMusic Contributor

12.05.11
Marrying authenticity with rational honesty
2011 | Label: Ghet-o-vision / Shady / DGC / Interscope

Take a moment to acknowledge the obvious: A relative newcomer and slim, white rapper has released his first proper LP on Eminem’s Shady imprint. Now, get over it. Obviously, any white boy attempting to navigate said terrain better bring his A-Game. Luckily, with Radioactive, not only does Yelawolf assert himself as a confident and competent rapper, he also offers up a complex personal narrative colored by masculine posturing (“Hard White,” “Let’s Roll”), good intentions (“Good Girl”), nostalgia (“Radio”) and abandonment issues (“The Last Song,” directed at the father he never knew).

Beyond merely amassing a batch of radio-baiting songs, Yelawolf’s lyrics reflect the culture clash of class issues. Other rappers go rogue in the face of that rift, hyper-sexualizing their lyrics and playing into their outsider status. Yelawolf’s approach marries authenticity with rational honesty. “They don’t want me to lie, but they don’t wanna hear the truth,” he sings in the hook for “Everything I Love the Most,” a song as much about living up to societal expectations as jovially rebelling against them. Minutes later in a verse on “Radio,” he cuts to the quick, defending rap narratives with the pithy wisdom that, “If Eric Clapton can sing about… read more »

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High Expectations

KPMUSIC

I became a fan of yelawulf as soon as i heard him on Big Boi's Track You ain't no DJ. Yelawulf has a great voice and delivery.. but the lyrics were so -so and the hooks were pretty weak.

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They Say All Music Guide

He’s snide, he’s scrappy, he’s on the Shady imprint, and he’s white, but by exploiting the differences between the two, Yelawolf’s debut album, Radioactive, does an excellent job of separating the artist from his label boss, Eminem. Expect an Alabama-bred version of Detroit’s finest and you’ll be without the sharp wit and over the top sickness that Marshall can provide, although Yela’s still pointed and generally in the vicinity of unforgiving, offering up signature punch lines (“I already got two cars in the yard that don’t run/So why would I want to break it down for you?”) that reinforce his “Slumerican Shitizen” stance. He’s the right combination of proud and pissed too, as the radio-friendly “Made in the U.S.A.” gets serious about the “manufactured” American dream, while “Write Your Name” brings that rainy-day feeling with some hometown sentimentality and hope floating over a serene J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League production. While these deeper moments anchor the album, you really want the rapper to go hard at this point as key track “Growin Up in the Gutter” offers a whole new kind of grind, hulking ever so slowly toward the speakers with a WillPower beat that imagines bass master DJ Magic Mike flirting with industrial music. With Kid Rock on the chorus, the freedom-minded “Let’s Roll” is the drop-top car ride across America that it should be, and if you crave true Southern gutter music, just skip right to Gangsta Boo’s verse on the piano vs. profanity highlight “Throw It Up,” which also features Eminem playing it for laughs, and there are plenty. There’s an argument to made that Yelawolf’s entry into the world of official releases is a bit too cluttered with distractions — stars, prime beats, and big-time hooks — to be considered a proper showcase, but when given room, he shines through. Besides, he had already built a loyal following through underground mixtapes, so please excuse this popular host if he disappears for a moment, because Radioactive is a busy, well-funded, Southern-fried, and all the way live Shadyville party. – David Jeffries

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