Yelawolf
November 8, 2014
House of Blues- Los Angeles, CA
After half a month on the road on the The Slumerican Made Tour, supporting his upcoming album, Love Story which has yet to have a release date, Yelawolf and some special guests made their way to sunny Los Angeles, CA on November 8, 2014.
Alabama native, Yelawolf has been on the rap scene since 2003, yet he only released 1 full length album, Radioactive in 2011. Although the rapper only has 1 studio album out, he has 6 official mix tapes and multiple EP’s out including Psycho White which was released in 2012 and featured a collaboration with Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker who made a special appearance with Yelawolf and his band to a packed House of Blues on Saturday, November 8, 2014.
The curtain rose as the lights dimmed at the House of Blues shortly after 10:30pm. The crowd came in closer and cheered in anticipation. One by one Yelawolf’s crew came out on stage; his guitarist and DJ came out matching, wearing black cowboy hats, leather jackets and jeans, giving them a very Rock n Roll/grunge feel. As the DJ positioned himself him behind the front half of a car and Travis Barker sat behind his kit, the band went into Honey Brown, a new song for the upcoming album. Yelawolf joined the band on stage, sporting a white cowboy hat, a button up black shirt with roses and skulls, blue jeans and cowboy boots. By the end of the second song, Good to Go, Yelawolf asked the audience if there were any “Psycho White” fans. After the entire venue shouted back a big “Yes!” the band went into Pushem which had everyone on stage working. Yelawolf was jumping up and down, going side to side while Barker used every muscle in his body to play the fast punk beat of the song; the audience was loving every second. It was a good cardio workout as a mosh pit even broke out- yes a mosh pit at a rap show.
Yelawolf’s 18 song set flew by in what seemed to be an instant. He performed fan favorites including Daddy’s Lambo, Let’s Roll, Pop The Trunk, I Just Wanna Party, and the set closer and new single, Till It’s Gone. Yelawolf is unlike any rapper out there now; he has a very rock feel to his music (and not just because Travis Barker performed with him) and his live shows are full of energy. Throughout the night, beer and water was flying from both sides of the spectrum; being thrown off stage into the crowd and thrown from the crowd on the stage. The crowd was dancing, rapping and moshing along which isn’t something that is seen during rap shows and everyone was having a good time. There’s an aspect of Yelawolf’s music that everyone can enjoy, whether or not you consider yourself a fan of “rap”. He is a genre blending artist who has an arsenal of songs that all people can enjoy so when this show hits your town, buy your ticket and go party!
Review by: Nicole Lemberg
