Radioactive (also known as Radioactive: Amazing and Mystifying Chemical Tricks) is the second studio album and major label debut by American rapper Yelawolf. It was released on November 21, 2011 through Shady Records and Interscope Records.
Radioactive | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 21, 2011 | |||
Recorded | 2010–11 Conway Recording Studios 213 Studio E Studio Charlice Recording (Los Angeles, California) Effigy Studios (Ferndale, Michigan) Future Music Recording Studios (Las Vegas, Nevada) Parkland Playhouse (Parkland, Florida) PatchWerk Recording Studios (Atlanta, Georgia) Tree Sound Studios (Norcross, Georgia) | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 57:22 | |||
Label |
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Producer |
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Yelawolf chronology | ||||
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Singles from Radioactive | ||||
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Recording
editRecording sessions took place at Las Vegas Valley, Nevada in two weeks.[2]
Music composition, style, and lyrics
editRadioactive covers many different styles of hip hop fusions, being alternative hip hop as principal musical genre. Hardcore hip hop is represented on the tracks "Radioactive Introduction", "Throw It Up", "Get Away", and "Slumerican Shitizen". A horrorcore rap style is used in "Growin' Up in the Gutter", whereas "Hard White (Up in the Club)" is a crunk party track. "Let's Roll", "Write Your Name", and "Radio" follow a pop rap style, with catchy hooks and beats. "Animal" is a fast-paced hip hop party track with a dubstep influenced beat. "Good Girl" utilizes an R&B-tinged feel, while "The Hardest Love Song in the World" is a g-funk hip hop track. Yelawolf covers a variety of lyrical themes in these album, from gangsta rap lyrics in "Get Away" and "Throw It Up", to more conscious and slightly political tracks such as "Made in the USA", "Slumerican Shitizen", "Write Your Name", and "The Last Song". "Radio" is about the internet taking over how music and music videos are received by fans. It also refers to radio stations playing the same songs constantly and singers being discovered via the internet. The song contains several references to rock and rap artists and their songs from the past."Write your Name" is produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League With samples from the Reza Pishro "Tehran".[3] The album's final track, titled "The Last Song" described as very personal about Yelawolf's life, and it's a very emotional final letter to his absent biological father and talks about other past struggles.[4][5][6]
Singles
editThe album's first single "Hard White (Up in the Club)" was released on August 8, 2011. The song features guest vocals by Lil Jon and it was produced by Hydrox.[7] The music video was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, and directed by Motion Family. On September 20, the music video for "Hard White (Up in the Club)" was released through VEVO. The remix to "Hard White (Up in the Club)" was released on November 2; the song features T.I., and label-mates Slaughterhouse.
On October 28, 2011, Yelawolf released the album's second single "Let's Roll" featuring Kid Rock. The song was produced by The Audibles, Mr. Pyro, and Eminem.
Other songs
editThe track, titled "No Hands" was featured on the video game Driver: San Francisco. Yelawolf partnered up to release the music video with Ubisoft and Complex. The music video was filmed at several major landmarks in San Francisco, California, and directed by Erick Peyton, who is well known for his direction on Snoop Dogg's music video for his song "That Tree". The song did not make it on the album.
Yelawolf filmed a 12-minute short horror film for the track "Growin' Up in the Gutter", which features rapper Rittz. Although the track was not released as a single the short film finally premiered on July 4.[8] It was directed by Tyler Clinton and Yelawolf credited as Michael Wayne for Slumerican, the short film was titled "Gutter".[9]
Critical reception
editAggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | (62/100)[10] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllHipHop | (6/10)[11] |
AllMusic | [12] |
Consequence of Sound | [13] |
Los Angeles Times | [14] |
Paste | (7.2/10)[15] |
Pitchfork Media | (6.5/10)[16] |
PopMatters | (4/10)[17] |
Spin | (7/10)[18] |
Rolling Stone | [19] |
XXL | (XL)[20] |
Radioactive has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Before release, the album was noted by the influential hip-hop magazine The Source as being a near classic, with a 4.5/5 rating. At Metacritic the album received an average score of 62 out of 100, based on 16 reviews.[10] Acclaimed Hip-hop magazine XXL gave the album a 4/5 (XL) rating, saying "more than not, the album is a standout effort that introduces the full-range of his talents as an MC with crafty songwriting abilities and deft ear for a sonic palette". Prefix Magazine stated that it was "hard to view Radioactive in any context that doesn’t label it as a total artistic failure" and that Yelawolf was "rolling over to commercial demands".[21] PopMatters echoed this sentiment, calling the album a "misguided grasp at populism" and criticising Yelawolf's willingness to "play second fiddle" to A&R demands.[17] Complex Magazine rated Radioactive as #18 in the 25 Best Albums of 2011.[22] Noted hip hop magazine XXL, Radioactive was ranked at number 10 of the best albums of 2011.
Commercial performance
editThe album debuted at number 27 on the US Billboard 200, with 41,000 copies sold in its first week.[23] It has sold 208,000 copies in the US as of April 2015.[24]
Track listing
editNo. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Radioactive Introduction" | 2:57 | ||
2. | "Get Away" (featuring Shawty Fatt and Mystikal) |
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| 3:23 |
3. | "Let's Roll" (featuring Kid Rock) |
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| 3:54 |
4. | "Hard White (Up in the Club)" (featuring Lil Jon) |
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| 3:23 |
5. | "Growin' Up in the Gutter" (featuring Rittz) |
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| 3:40 |
6. | "Throw It Up" (featuring Gangsta Boo & Eminem) |
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| 4:54 |
7. | "Good Girl" (featuring Poo Bear) |
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| 4:24 |
8. | "Made in the U.S.A" (featuring Priscilla Renea) |
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| 3:28 |
9. | "Animal" (featuring Fefe Dobson) |
| 3:42 | |
10. | "The Hardest Love Song in the World" |
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| 2:59 |
11. | "Write Your Name" (featuring Mona Moua) |
| 3:44 | |
12. | "Everything I Love the Most" |
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| 4:05 |
13. | "Radio" |
| 5:32 | |
14. | "Slumerican Shitizen" (featuring Killer Mike) |
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| 3:36 |
15. | "The Last Song" |
| WLPWR | 3:41 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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16. | "Whip It" |
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| 4:04 |
17. | "I See You" |
| 3:54 | |
18. | "In This World" |
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| 4:03 |
- Notes
- ^a signifies a co-producer
- ^b signifies an additional producer
- "Radioactive Introduction" features background vocals by Nikkiya.
- "Let's Roll" features background vocals by Herschel Boone.
- "The Hardest Love Song in the World" features uncredited vocals by Poo Bear.
- "Radio" features uncredited vocals by Danny Morris.
- "In This World" features uncredited vocals by Eminem.
- Sample credits
- "Get Away" contains elements of "Strawberry Letter 23", written by Shuggie Otis, and samples of the same performed by The Brothers Johnson.
- "The Hardest Love Song in the World" contains elements of "Always Together", written by Bobby Miller, and samples of the same performed by The Dells.
- "Everything I Love The Most" contains elements of "The Stranger", written and performed by Billy Joel.
- "In This World" contains elements of "Is There Any Love", written by Paul Zaza and Trevor Dandy, and samples of the same performed by Trevor Dandy.
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
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Year-end chartsedit
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Personnel
editCredits for Radioactive adapted from Allmusic.[30]
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References
edit- ^ "Let's Roll ft. Kid Rock". Yelawolf. Archived from the original on 2013-08-23. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
- ^ "Yelawolf is a Rockstar! Smokes Legal Weed?! | RadioPlanet.tv | Where Hip Hop Meets Hollywood". RadioPlanet.tv. 2010-12-16. Archived from the original on 2012-01-30. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
- ^ "Yelawolf feat. Mona Moua's 'Write Your Name' - Discover the Sample Source". WhoSampled.
- ^ "YelaWolf's statement about the fake "Animal" leak from Radioactive". YouTube. 2010-02-17. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
- ^ "Yelawolf – Radio Lyrics". Rap Genius. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ "Yelawolf official site – news". Yelawolf.com. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ "New Music: Yelawolf x Lil Jon "Hard White (Up In The Club)"". Rap Radar. 2011-08-03. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
- ^ Yelawolf Readies EP with Travis Barker, 11-Minute 'Horror Film' Music Video. Billboard.com (2009-09-14). Retrieved on 2012-08-09.
- ^ Video: Yelawolf Ft. Rittz – Growin Up In The Gutter Archived 2013-02-05 at archive.today. The Source. Retrieved on 2012-08-09.
- ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Radioactive". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- ^ Radioactive Album Review. AllHipHop. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
- ^ Jeffries, David. "Yelawolf – Radioactive – Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
- ^ Madden, Mike (2011-11-18). "Yelawolf Radioactive". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
- ^ "Album Review: Yelawolf's "Radioactive"". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. 2011-11-22. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
- ^ Weiss, Dan (2011-11-23). "Yelawolf: Radioactive". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
- ^ Sargent, Jordan (2011-12-01). "Yelawolf: Radioactive". Pitchfork.
- ^ a b Amidon, David. "Yelawolf: Radioactive". Popmatters. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ "Yelawolf, 'Radioactive' (Ghet-O-Vision/DGC/Shady/Interscope)". SPIN. 21 November 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
- ^ Monica Herrera (2011-11-22). "Radioactive | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
- ^ "Yelawolf, Radioactive". Xxlmag.Com. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
- ^ "Album Review: YelaWolf – Radioactive | Prefix". Prefixmag.com. 2011-12-05. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ "The 25 Best Albums of 2011". Complex. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ Jacobs, Allen (2011-11-30). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 11/27/2011 | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
- ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Yelawolf – Radioactive". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- ^ "Yelawolf Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- ^ "Yelawolf Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- ^ "Yelawolf Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- ^ Credits: Radioactive. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2011-11-23.