Yelawolf brought his brand of Southern hospitality to the Ogden Theater last night in all of his hip-hop splendor. C=T contributor, Greg Bentley, took in last night’s magic. Words and photos by Greg Bentley.
The Ogden Theater was packed when Big Henri from Yelawolf’s label Slumerican kicked off the show. Big Henri recently released his first studio album Henriality. By the end of his forceful set, he was shirtless and had the crowd raucously jumping around.
Mikey Mike then took the reins. For those not in the know, Mikey Mike has been busy promoting himself on LA billboards with hopes to just meet some new friends to eat pizza with. He’s also accepting nudes. Mike’s music was fresh, energetic and uplifting.
Then came Yelawolf. Yelawolf seamlessly blends Alabama country roots with fast hitting lyrics talking about Chevy’s, mossbergs, whiskey, and catfish. Yela cites Kid Rock as one of his most important influences. A lot of his music is very aggressive and very dark. Till It’s Gone is one of the most powerful singles off his 2015 album Love Story, and Yela has described the beat as “dope, swampy, alligator, snake-infested, gangrene, and dark.”
Yelawolf played a lot from the Love Story record. The crowd went off when the first beats dropped for Outer Space. “I’m not out of place, I’m from outer space. I’m not out of place, I’m from outer space.” And the energy never died down. Another song from Love Story, Empty Bottles, discusses loneliness and drinking it all away. “With empty bottles on the table black roses on the ground…” In Pop the Trunk, which is from his 2010 album Trunk Muzik, Yelawolf tells the story of what happens when trouble goes down and you resort to the old Mossberg in the mossy oak duffle bag. “Don’t make me go pop the trunk on you.”
We are all eagerly awaiting his next studio album, “Trial by Fire,” which is scheduled to be released next week on Shady Records, Slumerican, and Interscope.
