YelaWolf - Heart of Dixie Review

Artist: YelaWolf
Album: Heart of Dixie
Label: Shady/Slumerican Music
Executive Producers: YelaWolf, DJ Frank White, & M16

Alabama native YelaWolf dropped his major label debut last Fall with “Radioactive” which spanned moderate success and the hit single “Lets Roll” with Kid Rock, but the album didn’t have the type of success that many had thought with the involvement of Eminem in the project. Since then YelaWolf has battled a health scare (ruptured spleen) and battled his record label at Interscope. YelaWolf himself has claimed to have “compromised” himself in some of the music on his major label effort and now has decided to return to his “Trunk Muzik” roots with “Heart of Dixie,” but this time he’s enlisted a new up and coming producer in Alabama native M16 (much like he did with WillPower of SupaHot Beats on “Trunk Muzik”) to handle the production. YelaWolf keeps it all the way ‘Bama on this project as he holds the entire album down on his own for the most part (except for one track where Rittz & Shawty Fatt join him) and M16 produces the entire project while DJ Frank White hosts it. All 3 are Alabama natives (Yela from Gadsden, M16 from Tuscaloosa, and Frank White from Montgomery).

The project opens up with “Howdy” where Yela weaves in and out of the smooth beat recalling his life coming up from nothing to a “co-sign from Marshall” and he shouts out the entire state of Alabama along with an appreciated “ROLL TIDE.” The mood shifts to a more crunk, rowdy tempo on the rawkus “Let Me Out” where Yela actually switches his flow to a more slowed down, deliberate flow over the sickening snares, bass, and keys from M16. Yela talks about the ridiculous rumors (like being a par tof the Illuminati) that come along with fame and Shady’s influence can definitely be felt on this one. On “Big Nutz” spazzes out over the thumping M16 beat and then Yela gets on that “White Boy Sh*t”:

“I’m on that white boy sh*t/
at least that’s what I been told/
smokin’ Reggie outta’ rolled up tinfoil/
everybody sayin I’m a weirdo/
With the semi-automatic in my trench coat/
suburbs, Honda Civic, hits of Acid I did it/
quarter pound in my locker and a 100 tabs/
I was trippin’ balls up in class/
hippies wearing tie-dye t-shirts/
sellin Barnies at a f*ckin Fish concert/
Juggalos, Technina, WolfPack, Shady Fans, A-Game/
On that white boy sh*t!”

YelaWolf is most definitely throwing out stereotypes as a sort of “f*ck you” to people while also “embracing the white” rather than trying to pretend he’s something he’s not (see Machine Gun Kelly). The mood shifts to Yela’s own brand of “baby making music” on the smooth “F*ck Me” until the end when he flips a switch and loses it on his chick before reverting back to a laid back tone again in a very schizo type of song. Yela takes it back to the party with “Sobriety Sucks” and then enlists his Slumerican brethren Shawty Fatt & Rittz on “Out My Face.” All 3 rip the track to sheds and are able to shine on the first Slumerican posse song (to my knowledge). Next up is Yela’s dedication to all the fathers out there which he actually released on Father’s Day. It’s a nice change to see father’s painted in a positive light in Hip Hop for a change and Yela provides a touching track for all the good father’s. “Heart of Dixie” closes out with the thumping outro “Wrap Song.”

After almost a year’s drought of new YelaWolf music it’s refreshing to hear YelaWolf back and sounding hungry again. He actually switched his flow up quite a bit here sticking with more of a slowed up flow mixed with that stop and go machine gun like flow we all love him for. The production from M16 was top notch and he wasn’t trying to emulate Will Power or any of the lame trap producers we seem to get every 5 minutes. All of that combined with DJ Frank White not trying to be overbearing with shout outs or drops makes for an extremely enjoyable (yet short) listen and what should be a nice appetizer to hold us over until “Trunk Muzik Returns” and the “Psycho White EP” with Travis Barker later this year.