As the lore of B.o.B -- whom a colleague recently dubbed part rapper, part Jack Johnson -- has grown significantly with the single "Nothin' on You" (more on that here), his opening act tonight at Revolution, Yelawolf (right), has a chance to hit pop paydirt with a much grittier approach.
Already saddled with comparisons to Eminem not only because of his skin tone but also his considerable gifts as a storyteller and syllable-crammer, the Alabama native's recent release, Trunk Muzik, is considered merely a mixtape, but it is one of the most complete documents of what 2010 should sound like -- this guy is no Bubba Sparxxx. Now that Yelawolf has received some vice advice from Eminem, County Grind hopes that the release of Yelawolf's official album, Trunk Muzik 0-60, later this year dishes out success he can handle. In the meantime, here are five tracks that show Yelawolf's promise and would make for an explosive performance tonight.
5. "F.U." is undoubtedly one of the finest "fuck you" songs ever conceived, and audience participation from both the fans and haters is guaranteed.
4. A bit of a stretch that he'll throw in his "You Ain't No DJ" guest verses from Big Boi's solo album, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, but "yeah, I'm pale, but i'll impale ya with an Impala," would incite some hearty howls from the crowd.
3. Another collaboration with a fellow son of the Deep South "Hometown Hero (Remix)" is a track by Mississippi rapper/producer Big K.R.I.T. that shows both talented young rhymers are proud of the hard knocks that came with where they grew up.
2. The Bob Dylan-sampling "Mixin' Up the Medicine" showed up on Trunk Muzik and is supposedly the first single from Juelz Santana's upcoming Born to Lose, Built to Win. We don't need to tell you who owns this track.
1. "Pop the Trunk" is some scary, vivid stuff -- you can almost see the potato smoking at the tip of the hollow steel. The very literal accompanying video sums up how imposing a scrawny, backwoods boy can be.
B.o.B, with Yelawolf and Playboy Tre. 8 p.m. Tuesday, August 24, at
Revolution, 200 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $29.
Call 954-727-0950, or click here.
