Es ist vernichtend heiß in der Mittagssonne. Wir stehen zwischen K.I.Z.–Statuen und anderen Requisiten, die für die finalen Shows des Beat The Fish Deluxe angekarrt worden sind. Bekleidet wie in einem Western-Streifen, bei dem auf einer Harley statt auf einem Pferd geritten wird, kommen Yelawolf, sein DJ und sein Gitarrist in den Backstagebereich – Cowboyhüte, Lederjacken und Tattoos schmücken die Jungs. Yelawolfs T-Shirt wird nach einem kleinen Malheur am Buffet sofort in der Sonne getrocknet, auch wenn es durch den verschütteten Café eine interessante Marmorierung erhalten hat. Nachdem es getrocknet ist, begleitet es ihn ohne Umschweifen mit auf die Bühne. Yelawolf ist übermüdet, trotzdem strahlt er fast schüchtern, als sich das Gespräch Richtung der Country-Facetten in seiner Musik oder diverse Motorräder aus einer anderen Zeit dreht.
Fotos: Daniel Shaked
Interview: Wanja Bierbaum
Mitarbeit: Moritz Nachtschatt
The Message: For „Devil In My Veins“ you got help from the McCrary Sisters – they sang with Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. How did that happen?
Yelawolf: „Devil In My Veins“ was one of the last tracks we recorded on „Love Story“ and Bones was just jammin’, it came really, really fast. From the time where Bones sat down and played the guitar, I had laid down my vocals in maybe less than an hour later for the entire record. So we’re sittin’ there the same day and Bones was like: “Man, have you ever heard of the McCrary Sisters?” and he explained who they were and I was like: ““Well, where they at?” and then he was like: “I met one of the sisters, I’ve got her number.” I was like: “Shit, call ‘em up, see if they’re down.” So they happened to be down, they came through. Yeah, they learned the record in about five minutes and laid the vocals, first take. They are legendary man!
It’s my favorite song on the album.
Oh, thanks man, that’s great, that’s rare. I appreciate it, it’s my favorite too! Fo real! I wish it was everybody’s favorite.
Do you find it hard that people don’t appeal to the country sound?
It’s just more what I became. But that crowd is also comparably, you’re talking about the world, it’s a tiny crowd when you’re talking about the entire globe. The HipHop crowd that I gathered with “Trunk Muzik” – most of them didn’t dig anything I did before. They would pick a couple records that they liked, that were very specific to a sound. It doesn’t really matter, but that’s the reason why it comes to a shock to some. Fans are impatient, they’re not gonna take the time to really go and figure out why you did something, they’re just like: “Why the fuck did he make that?”. “Love Story” has four records on it that were recorded eight years ago. Two years before “Trunk Muzik” was recorded.
Which ones?
“Have A Great Flight” and “Change” were recorded eight years ago. There’re two more, I can’t remember but they were recorded two years before “Trunk Muzik”. But we couldn’t get any traction with the music at that time. An evolved version of what I was doing before HipHop – before core HipHop really took off.
The „Box Chevy“ row turns five now on „Love Story“. You have quite a big fascination for Chevy’s but also for Harley’s and bikes. I saw you got a “Burner Tuff” from Switzerland. How did you get that one?
Yeah, Danny Schneider became a good friend of ours. He invited us all to ride Harleys, he had an Indian and he was like: “You want this?” and I was like: “Get da fuck out of here!” Anyways, four years later, he had gotten the paperwork out and sent it to California – now he’s about to go to California and deliver it to me to Nashville. So yeah, it’s real, he really gave it to me. Crazy!
He’s like really one of the only ones who can handle that technically.
Yeah, he’s a special dude! I feel super fortunate.
You’ve got a 67c10 Chevy a 1954 and a 89 Silverado. Do you have any newer favorites or do you rather stick to the older ones?
Yeah, I have a 2015 Chevy Silverado but just last week the front tire blew completely off. I was back in Alabama at my buddy Cambo’s house. Anyway, so I blew a tire off of one rims. It’s sitting at a tow shop in Alabama right now. So right now it’s outta commission. Nothing, I got nothing! (laughs)
What’s the special thing about the Chevy’s?
It’s a family thing! My great grandfather drove Chevy’s, my poppa, my grandfather drove Chevy’s, my whole family. We’re an American brand type of family. My poppa worked in a steel mill. So it was all about supporting the American worker. So that’s the main reason, really! Chevy became the most reliable brand. And then it became just fun. It’s kinda like picking a team, this team or that team and the rivalry is fun.
Chevy Impala or Dodge Charger?
Impala, yeah! If there was any other car that I would ride outside of Chevy, I would ride a Dodge. I like Dodge. I’d never ride a Ford though.
So talking about tradition, I followed that whole Confederate flag discussion – you’ve earned a lot of criticism about posting the flag. But you also made your point clear on the song „To Whom It May Concern“. Do you think the media got you wrong on this?
Some people got me wrong, some people got me right, but it doesn’t really matter. I said all I had to say about that period. I wrote a song and that’s all I wanted to say about it, that’s all I’ll ever say about it. I’m not here to put up a fight for that particular thing. It’s American and the American flag was created specifically for the reason of having our own thing. So the Dixie flag … I was just more concerned with friends and family of mine who still fly it, that don’t deserve a bad reputation. They just deserve a voice. Just to say: “Hey man, it’s not all that” – some of it is for sure, just like all things. But a couple of my good friends, Big K.R.I.T., Killer Mike, David Banner. Listening to them or watching their post and things that they were saying puts things in perspective for me. I’d rather have them as a friend and continue the relationship with them as homies and as family and music than I would ever try to put up a fight against something that is completely out of my hand. But that was just something I needed to speak on, at least a little bit. At first I was fired up but then it became bigger and bigger and bigger. And people keep doing terrible things in the name of it or flying it and I’m just like: “I ain’t with it!” It’s the American flag where I put my focus on.
It seems to be the same with the „Dixie“-Song, which had its little role in the Confederate war. It got used in the Confederates but it was written by a black group. Or is that a rumor?
No no no, it’s not a rumor, it’s a deep thing, a very deep conversation. It can go multiple directions, depending on who you talk to. But I’m not the one. I’ve said enough.
In which way is this effecting the freedom of opinion?
I think it’s empowering the freedom of opinion. Fortunately, out of that situation usually comes some kind of liberation. Some people feel liberated. It takes tragedy and drama for the human being to really wake up to something that is real. That’s just our nature! Probably go through another world war before we figure out that ain’t what’s up, that’s not the way to live and then the world has to change again, just like it always does.
Do you see a certain responsibility as an artist?
Honestly, yeah! Lately I have been feeling more responsible. Well, it’s probably because I’m getting older and I’m growing up, my children are growing up and I’ve never taken myself too seriously. But at the same time I’ve made music that can be used to “Pop The Trunk”. That’s a song that some people can listen to and get hyped up and maybe go fight somebody. That’s also a song someone can listen to and chill out and let that song be the outlet for their anger and just jam out to it, drink and say „Fuck that!“ and “I’m not gonna handle it that way!” Seriously, just recently as of the last three months it’s been on my mind of how I’m gonna approach my next record. “Trial By Fire” is done, it’s done, it’s already finished. It’s being mixed right now. I made that record during a fuckin’ crazy dark time, I was in the studio, drinking viciously and just a lot of fucking shit goin’ on. Some current events have happened around the world, that affected the way that I’m gonna approach music on my next record. I just know it, you can’t really help it.
For instance, what do you mean?
Well, these bombings man, these fucking murders – I mean fuck ISIS. You know all what they’re doing. I can predict the next American president is gonna do something fucking serious. Whatever that situation is, it’s gonna affect my children. Your children, your friends and families because the States are very fucking protective and hot headed when it comes to shit that starts happening to the American public or affecting the American public and becomes super influential when it comes to war. I’m not scared of it because I think it needs to be handled, these guys can’t continue to just walk around and kill innocent people. They have to be taken care of, but it is gonna affect the way we do music, it’s gonna affect the way that we do shows, it’s gonna affect the world!
How should the USA react in this confusing situation?
I’m no politician, I can say that! I’m just a regular dude, an artist with an opinion and perspective just like anybody else. I don’t really know. Between Hillary and fuckin’ Donald Trump I’ll pick the lesser of two evil, I mean what da fuck! We’re not in the best situation right now.
Do you think that growing up and having children of your own just puts everything in perspective?
It does for me but it doesn’t for everyone. Children don’t change people, it didn’t change my father’s life, it didn’t change him at all but it affects me. I can only speak for me and it affects me how I see them, you know. I had dreams of them being in war, that shit’s scary! It’s a scary thought for the government to come pick up your kids and drag ‘em off to war. For some shit they don’t really know what they’re fighting for. But that’s a full possibility. It happened many times before. So I’m just trying to get it together and watch the shit that is going around and … I mean we’re out here in Europe and doing it, fuck dude, taking as big ass risk. The fans are taking a risk, we’re taking a risk, we’re quietly fighting a freedom war without even saying it. Like: “Fuck you, we’re still gonna rock”, “Fuck you, we’re still gonna go to the shows”, “Fuck you, we’re still gonna travel and we’re still gonna play”.
Doesn’t it actually feel good as an artist to feel responsibility and pass it on to the people?
I’m not gonna be able to avoid what comes out of me because I’m emotionally driven. For real, if I feel something, I’m writing about it. I’m affected by the shit that’s going on right now. So in one way or another it’s gonna come out of me and whether that’s gonna be an aggressive record or whether that’s gonna be a love song, I don’t know. I’m not the kind of artist that will paint something and then tell someone else what he should think about it. I just put it out there and you interpret it how you want and make of it what you will. Like I said, I’m not a politician.
I think, taking the risk by touring and showing that you’re not afraid is a simple and good sign!
We flew through Istanbul and I was walking down the airport and was like: “God damn dude, we’re really doing this shit!” We were in Paris two days before the bombings. Sold out show, just up the street from where that happened. Then when we were in Germany two days later, Everlast was with us. He picked up his phone, he was the person that broke the news to the dressing room. He was like: “Oh my god dude, oh my god!” Obviously, everybody gets on social media and starts looking and then during that 30 minutes one of our fans who was at our show said „My boyfriend, we can’t find him, we went to this show, could you please say something“ she asked. That kid passed away man, he died there. He had three last posts, his post was two or three photos front row at our show and then his last photo was a photo of him under the Eagles Of Death Metal banner and that was it. We had to make a decision right then, do we continue the tour or fucking go home and we were like: “Fuck it, we can’t let the world know, these guys know or anyone else know that we’re not gonna stop ‘cause you did that.” So the next days, sold out show, sold out show, sold out show. It was a good thing, it was empowering to know that the fans aren’t scared, we ain’t scared, alright, fuck it, we’re gonna continue! Everybody’s gonna keep rocking! It was emotional tough, it sucked!
