It’s difficult to find another genre of music as inherently competitive as Hip Hop. From deejay battles to B-Boy battles to Beatboxing Championships to graffiti, each element comes complete with it’s own sport-like display of skills. The same is consistent with emceeing, and as the genre continues to mature, that competitive spirit has further ingrained itself into quality songwriting. “When I made Trunk Muzik, I felt like I had to prove my worth being here as a rapper because I had never really went hard because ultimately I’m a songwriter,” Yelawolf told HipHopDX at the 4th Annual Roots Picnic in Philadelphia’s Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing.
“Being an emcee and wordplay is just a perk to practicing for so many years. But the point to me is to make a good song. I’m pretty strange as far as the music that I listen to. I could be listening to James Taylor. I could be listening to Crunchy Black or I could be listening to Nas. You’re more interested in the artist not his lyrical ability. That’s nerdy, you know. Who cares? I don’t care if a rapper can flip a 100,000 words. It’s impressive but it’s also boring at times. It’s like, ‘That’s cool, man. But your song sucks.’ It’s a balance, yo.”
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