About Yelawolf
Michael Wayne Atha , better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Gadsden, Alabama, and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, he embarked on his recording career in 2005, releasing four mixtapes to positive local reception. His fourth mixtape, Trunk Muzik , earned him wider recognition and led him to sign a recording contract with Interscope Records. He re-worked the mixtape into his first major label release, Trunk Muzik 0-60 .
He entered a joint venture deal with Eminem's Shady Records to release his second studio album, Radioactive , which peaked at number 27 on the Billboard 200. His third album, Love Story peaked at number three on the chart and spawned the single "Till It's Gone," which received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America . His fourth and fifth albums, Trial by Fire and Trunk Muzik III , both saw moderate commercial performance and critical praise; his sixth album, Ghetto Cowboy served as his first independent release following his major label departure.
Michael Wayne Atha was born on December 30, 1979, in Gadsden, Alabama. He has described himself as " the people that are the core of America". Yelawolf said his stage name was inspired by his father. Throughout childhood, Atha moved often. He spent much of his time in Antioch, Tennessee, and attended Carter Lawrence Middle School in Nashville, which is located near the Edgehill Homes apartment projects. He says that during that time, "hip hop started making sense to me. That's where hip hop made sense culturally."
Regarding his stage name and persona, Yelawolf has said that his father is Cherokee, but also that he's "always been … just white." He says he constructed the name "Yelawolf" from the word "Yela" ) and the English word "Wolf" because it "represents the duality between his intellectual 'light' side... and his aggressive, survivalist 'dark' side."
In 2005, Yelawolf appeared on the UPN Network reality series The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott. After his elimination from the show, he released his independent debut album Creekwater in 2005, later the same year he released his debut mixtape Pissin' in a Barrel of Beez. Two years later, Yelawolf signed to Columbia Records and released the single "Kickin'" from the album, Fearin' and Loathin' in Smalltown, U.S.A.. The album was never released, and Yelawolf was dropped from the label later that year. Yelawolf released two mixtapes following his release from Columbia, titled Ball of Flames: The Ballad of Slick Rick E. Bobby and Stereo: A Hip Hop Tribute to Classic Rock, both of which went mainly unnoticed, although Stereo is often mentioned by fans as some of his best work. In 2009, he signed with Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment and released his debut extended play Arena Rap.
In 2009, he began to work with Ghet-O-Vision producer, WLPWR, on his 2009 breakthrough mixtape titled Trunk Muzik. Released in January 2010, the mixtape created a substantial online following for Yelawolf. Later that year, Yelawolf signed a major record deal with Interscope Records, and began to work on a re-release of the project, titled Trunk Muzik 0-60. It was released on November 22, 2010, under Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment and Interscope Records, which became his most acclaimed work at that time. In 2010 and 2011, he raised his profile by making guest appearances on albums by rappers Big Boi, Paul Wall, Tech N9ne, Travis Barker, Gucci Mane, and Big K.R.I.T., among others.
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