Yelawolf has been earmarked as Eminem‘s protegé since joining Shady Records, though it would seem that the relationship with parent label Interscope has become somewhat strained.
Speaking out against Jimmy Iovine and Interscope Records while on Shade 45 radio, Yelawolf explained how the label have been slacking ever since he came on board.
“Radioactive, the last project I put out, was deliberately given to Interscope, and it was on a fuckin’ silver platter, given to them to work. Radio records,” explained Yela. “Purposefully, it was my attempt. These motherfuckers have given me one single in eleven months. I don’t really understand where the importance is. And that’s just me being real.”
The Alabama rapper went on, stating he would no longer be giving over creative control to the label. “Every artist gets frustrated at some point, I imagine, but I’ve never been one to hold my tongue. That’s just where I’m at. So I’m putting music out the way the fuck I want to put it out now. Making music exactly the way I want to do it.”
Yelawolf admitted that he did slightly crossover with his last album in order to win new fans, though he feels that the effort wasn’t reciprocated by Interscope. “I fully compromised. But I let everyone know prior to doing Radioactive what I was doing. I was being honest with my fans. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m letting people in, we’re gonna do something more melodic.’ I mean, the album’s called Radioactive – to be active on the Radio. It was a purposeful shot for me, because I felt like I had a fuckin’ window to use. ‘Oh, I can gain, I can pull more people in with this shit.’ I don’t know what the fuck they’re doing up there.”
Yelawolf was careful not to bite the hand that feeds him however, and had only kind words to say about the Shady camp, clearly differentiating them from Interscope. “Shady’s great, I love Shady Records. I just think there’s some shit going on upstairs. I don’t know what the fuck’s going on. Back to ‘Trunk Music.'”
