Trunk Muzik 0-60 LP

'In 2010, Yelawolf’s 'Trunk Muzik' was able to garner attention and move crowds simply due to its star and batch of premium guests. It was quite an accomplishment given the fact that it was really a mixtape, offering listeners 10 new songs and a couple exclusive remixes from a prior release. The now celebrated project was exuberantly hosted by DJ Burn One and featured legends like Bun B (of UGK) and Raekwon (of Wu-Tang). Fan favorite Gucci Mane also appears on one of the album’s most hype cuts, the anthemic, “I Just Wanna Party.” Most of the sparse, melodic production is helmed by WLPWR and the remaining beats were rounded out by Kae Beatz and Malay and KP. 'Trunk Muzik 0-60' is actually a bulked up version of an earlier release entitled 'Trunk Muzik'—Yela’s mixtape that turned heads and got him signed to Interscope.

Yelawolf emerged from Alabama in 2005 to quiet yet critical acclaim for his release 'Creek Water.' His choppy, rapid-fire cadence proved to be an earworm for those wanting party music with energetic flows and propulsive beats. The subject matter veered wildly and Yelawolf’s storytelling abilities were visually detailed to boot. One of the cuts, “Love Is Not Enough” is a thoughtful, bruised ballad with emotional highs and lows. Tracks like “Pop The Trunk” is reminiscent of minimal trap production and the rapping is of Eminem’s early ilk; chaotic, violent, threatening yet wildly playful and at times funny. It’s fitting that Yelawolf signed to Eminem’s Shady Records in 2011.

'Trunk Muzik' sold a quick 5000 in its first week with little publicity or mainstream attention—it was mostly due to word of mouth and Yela’s strong and organic fanbase culled from the internet and local tours. It charted at No. 16 on the Top Rap Albums Chart and went onto sell hundreds of thousands of copies thereafter. Yela’s ultra tattooed aesthetic and penchant for story raps with rural imagery perfectly aligned with crunk beats of the early 2010s. And while Yelawolf went onto prolifically produce a rather dense discography, 'Trunk Muzik' was when the major shift happened; the huge yet understated project that forever pushed him into the limelight. - David Ma