Yelawolf Experiments With His Sound On Radioactive (A CherryOnTop Review)

It came as no surprise when Yelawolf signed to Shady/Aftermath – Eminem is obviously a huge inspiration for the Alabama spitter. What fans didn’t come to expect was the change of sound that came with his debut, Radioactive.

The album’s opening “Radioactive” establishes the mood with it’s PSA-style intro and pulsing bass. The production on tracks like “Get Away” (Mystikal randomly pops up to spit his amazingly weird verse) and “Hard White (Up In The Club)” put Catfish Billy in his grimy element, making him sound comfortable when spitting his insanely dizzying rhymes. These are the type of songs that Yelawolf fans are accustomed to, the kind that got him signed to his major label.

Don’t fret though, Yela’s signature grit and rapid-fire delivery is still intact, it just gets watered down with occasional eye-rolling choruses and so-so production throughout the second half. Later tracks (“The Hardest Love Song,” “Radio”) tend to feel misplaced and only dilute the cohesiveness of the album with overly poppy hooks. The majority of these blemishes are attempts to soften Wolf’s raw image and give him some mainstream appeal. It’s an understandable strategy but it simultaneously pushes away older, more faithful fans as it attempts to attract newer listeners.

At points, Radioactive can make for a frustrating listen, truly testing Yelawolf’s older fans as he experiments through trial and error with different sounds. From the surprisingly fun dubstep banger “Animal” to the almost unbearably bad R&B jingle “Good Girl,” the album never feels like a completely fleshed out idea. Instead, it makes for an album littered with filler and sprinkled with songs that almost redeem the bad ones.

- Richard Martinez

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November 24th, 2011 | Mara | Comments Off |