YELAWOLF at The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Saturday, May 26. Rating: NNN
A sea of testosterone-fueled fists pumping skywards greeted Yelawolf on Saturday night and they would remain there for much of the Alabama rapper’s 90-minute set.
From opener Daddy’s Lambo, it was clear that the 32-year-old MC needed little more than his fast, twisting flow, southern drawl and bleak tales of rural poverty and class tension to fire up this sold-out audience.
He stoked the crowd further with several a capella verses, including his freestyle from last year’s BET Cypher, slipped classic beats Shook Ones and Still D.R.E. into his come-up jam I Wish, played a medley of influences – Johnny Cash, Easy-E, Metallica and OutKast – and paid tribute to late Beastie Boy MCA.
Although 2011 was a breakout year for Yela – he released his pop radio-friendly major label debut Radioactive on Eminem’s Shady Records imprint – his stage show was as minimal as it gets. Backed only by a DJ, the energy in the room remained squarely on his sneering, double-time rhymes and his ability to relate to his fans.