The fact that Yelawolf has resorted back to dropping free music directly after his last release (2015’s Love Story) speaks to the crossroads that split towards the path of stagnancy and optimism at this stage of his career. His brand of country twanged rap tunes isn’t exactly a trendy commodity these days but uniqueness makes the artist and Catfish Billy has plenty of it. We’re also barely removed his losing battle to keep Confederate Flags flying high but hey, no superhero tale is complete without bouts of being the underdog. With his new stake in the Hotel business (House of the Endless Life for those who are into acronyms), the Alabama rebel spews plenty of whiskey, angst and melodic humdingers that all look to signify the start of a permanent resurgence.
This latest Slumerican rollout doesn’t feature anything that fetches the ear like past singles such as the earnest “Tennessee Love” or any of the standout selections from his “My Box Chevy” series, however, even in a more free-flowing state of mind, there is no reason to write off the Eminem protégé off anytime soon. On paper, grabbing his fellow backwoods brother Bubba Sparxxx for a duet will create preconceived notions of good ‘ol boy filler but the newly signed Slumerican adds a distinctive flavor to “Be Yourself,” wedged in between Yela’s machine gun-fire vocals about disregarding the in-crowd. Production-wise, euphonious bluesy folk hybrids infused with uptempo bass dominate the seven-track release, with the most attractive of the bunch being the project anchor “Good Love.” The least alluring, EP opener “Supersonic Alley Cat,” is four minutes of fleeting guitar strums and building crescendo, only to be disrupted within the last :30 seconds with a white noise blitzkrieg of Yelawolf distortion.
Even though short projects are all the rage these days, Hotel doesn’t allow enough time for the EP develop a proper context and it serves as an unhappy medium for Catfish Billy to release some aggression of what sounds like a collection of songs that didn’t fit the scope of a bigger project, but were still decent enough for public consumption. He spends a good chunk of the time lashing out an ungrateful female as heard on “You Should Have Known” (most likely inspired by Febe Dobson) or relocating the saddle after the getting back on the wagon isn’t an option (see “Someday,” complete with a Bob Seger sample that accents the fiery lyrics written with a pen soaked in blood and moonshine).
The somber overtone of Yela’s new EP isn’t a strong enough indicator that a Year of the Wolf proclamation is warranted but he also leaves no room to question his passion when it comes to his artistic expression. Bring on Trial By Fire.
I think his found his sound dope! 4/5
“You should of known” n “Renegades” are the stand out tracks on this EP for me. Catfish Billy definitely been fine tuning for his signature sound. Keep that shit up Yela!!! In the age of mumble rap… this shit is Unique, Refreshing & DOPE!!!
Loved this.
GOOD TO HEAR HIM RAPPIN AGAIN
Are you fucking serious HHDX? 3.4/5? Did you actually listen to it more than once? Possibly 1 of his best projests even though only has 5 full songs. So much variety and talent from Yela and you guys at HHDX complaining about all these fucking mumble rappers and you still give them the same score as something as amazing as this?!!! Nearly done with this site.
Yela on Fire!
The talent is undeniable now. It has been for a very long time and those who paid attention experienced an incredible journey. Those tuning in now, just watch how it all keeps unfolding. All of these reviews and opinions don’t matter anymore. #slumerican
Won’t give props to the white boy Shady JR cuz he make all these rappers weep as he raps circles and creates classic music ! Cmon HHDX at least a 4.5.
mmm yeeah, definitely dope.
Definitely a very inaccurate review. To me, this EP alone deserves at least 4.8 out of 5.
A 3.8 is a solid score for a solid effort We here @ HipHopDX cannot show favoritism to every white inbred redneck rapper, and that includes Yellow Wolf and Bubba Sparks.
This is offensive and fuck you.
4.5 easily, almost a perfect offering. I need more Yelawolf right now, stop teasing us and bring the album out already!
Forgot to rate.
This is near classic I can’t wait for his album to drop!!
I fucks with you Trent, but this is at least a 4. For an EP, this was fire – especially for 2016 standards
Salute sir! But there are no “2016 standards.” The standard is standard. “Love Story” has like 10 songs that blow everything on this outta the water and that album was probably 10 songs too long. This is just a warm-up; we’ll see the real deal soon enough.
whoever wrote this article is an idiot
Yelawolf my dude i havent heard this yet so for real real i hope he got production from d.j.paul because when they work together masterpiece
Def 5/5
super
Are these reviews not proof read even once?…
no thanks. i need the old yelawolf back. less production, more rhymes.
what the fuck is a MWA anyways
Just as this article is an opinion piece.. here’s mine. You don’t have taste Trent. I like a ton of Yelas catalog but HOTEL is top 3. This shit has been ? since dropping.