Reviews Yelawolf - Ball Of Flames

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THERE ARE A FEW UNIQUE THINGS that every artist needs to have in order to see even a miniscule of success in this fickle music industry which is slowly being dominated by the cult of personality. Even before the pen is set to the pad, one must choose a path and stick to his convictions. A genuine personality, a unique way of thinking and an equally unique voice can be the difference between one hit wonder and longevity for a newcomer in a time where there are more artists than fans. Encompassing most, if not all of these attributes Yelawolf aka Catfish Billy is stepping out of a dark corner in the forgotten south (Alabama) with style.

Stuck between two current hip hop hotspots - Georgia and Louisiana, Yela took a huge risk and ventured north or west (it's all Hollywood ain't it?) to participate in Missy's "Road to Stardom" reality show where his honest opinions ("Missy makes weak beats") and pure rebel hip hop attitude earned him few admirers amongst the judges comprised of Missy Elliot, Mona Scott (Violator CEO), Cori Yarckin (who?), Teena Marie (80's R&B singer), and Dallas Austin (super producer). Not surprisingly this led to his early termination. Some people crumble under rejection and others don't mind the extra push. Its better to be told to work harder than to quit working right? Wolf decided to work harder and dropped an 11 track mixtape Ball of Flames: The Ballad of Slick Rick E. Bobby (Redd Klay/Ghet-o-Vision).

The best mixtape ever? Maybe not but the purpose of familiarizing potential fans with a new artist is fulfilled. Many of the themes on this disk are recurring but it helps to get a better understanding of Yela and his environment, thought process and the things that influence his style. To support this theory there are few features on Ball of Flames. Strong features include Shawty Fatt and B.o.B who both appear on "Run". Shawty Fatt sounds way too much like Mystikal but has a lot of presence on the track and, squeezes enough of himself out of the verse to keep the focus on him. Youngster B.O.B comes off strong saying as much as he can in as few words as possible, leaving enough space to allow the listener to dwell on his artistry and switching up his flow mid verse to show his skill and versatility, almost mating with the beat.

Sweet Waste however has a flow that is about as disposable as a white tee. He sounds like a 3 6 mafia affiliate but his verse doesn't completely ruin "New Shoes" being that it's only 8 bars long. Can't hate though, there's always a place for the homies on the tape, and they ain't supposed to outshine the boss. In fact it's almost the entourage's job to make the big homie look good. Overall Yela needs no help with his lyrics, flow or recording technique but his hook writing skills needs to be refined. However, when he's on there's no denying tracks like "Doughnuts", "New Shoes", "Victory Circles" or "Kickin" which will be featured on the upcoming album Fear And Loathing in Smalltown USA. The corniest thing about this mixtape has to be the hook on "Hey Rick E. Bobby", the cheerleaders are irritating and that "you so fine u blow my mind" chant needs an expiration date asap. Other than that The Ballad of Rick E. Bobby is worth the time it takes to download. Just be prepared to keep "Doughnuts" and "Kickin" on repeat. These two songs are the fairest assessment of what's to come in the future for Yela.

Featuring production by Jim Jonsin, Linx Kanek, Skape and HeadRoc, JJ Tha Kydd, BeatChefs, and Will Power the backdrops on this disk sometimes straddle the line between amateurish and innovative. The effort seems to be very self contained and while there are a few tempos that may require some adjusting to ("Shake and Bake", "Hey Rick E. Bobby", "Victory Circles"), there is consistency amongst the playlist. One thing that has to be understood is that this is a concept mixtape, there ain't too many missteps but maybe some of these missteps that standout are relevant to the movie. I wouldn't know because I haven't seen it so its kinda unfair to judge. If that is the case then kudos for sticking to the script (literally). If not, then the creativity has to be taken up a notch. This individual cd may not speak to the entire hip hop community but he has cornered a market that is for the most part widely ignored by hip hop, and on top of that it's not a bad collection of songs.

He has lyrics and flow to satisfy the "purist", and wit, personality and image to satisfy the "pop" crowd. With the path that he's on, it shouldn't be hard to connect with the rest of the hip hop community. He definitely has the resources and the talent. Without a fair warning Wolf caught the game on its heels and has heard it all from harsh criticism to glorious praise. Either way folks were paying attention and he managed to negotiate himself a deal with Sony. Do Nascar cars have stereos? If so Jeff Gordons somewhere doing laps to this shit. I think I read somewhere that son is dope with a paintbrush too, I guess genius has no limitations, let's just hope dude doesn't get stuck driving around in circles. This is illmuzik.