Yelawolf | |
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Yelawolf performing at Bumbershoot in 2012
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Background information | |
Birth name | Michael Wayne Atha |
Born | December 30, 1979 |
Origin | Gadsden, Alabama, United States |
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Years active | 2005–present |
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Website | http://yelawolf.com/ |
Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known as Yelawolf, is an American hip hop recording artist from Gadsden, Alabama. In his early years, Yelawolf released his first independent album Creek Water, which was released in 2005. During 2005 to 2010, he's been putting the releases of one extended play and four mixtapes. One extended play (EP), titled Trunk Muzik, amassed a strong attention that would follow the rapper's signing a record deal to Interscope Records, which re-released the mixtape as Trunk Muzik 0-60 later that year.
In January 2011, Yelawolf signed a recording contract to Eminem's record label, Shady Records, and released his major-label debut album, Radioactive on November 21, 2011. The album debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200. Yelawolf released a sequel to his breakthrough mixtape Trunk Muzik, titled Trunk Muzik Returns on March 14, 2013. His second album, Love Story, was released on April 21, 2015.
Michael Wayne Atha was born on December 30, 1979, in Gadsden, Alabama, and is of Cherokee (on his father's side) and White American descent. His mother Sheila, whom he claims was a "rockstar", gave birth to him at 15. Throughout his childhood, Atha moved often. He spent much of his time in Antioch, Tennessee, and attended Carter Lawrence Elementary School in Nashville, which was located near housing projects and where he says "hip hop started making sense to me. That's where hip hop made sense culturally."
Regarding his stage name, Yelawolf has said, "Yelawolf is Native American. My father is Cherokee and I’m from Cherokee county – Gadsden, Alabama. Yela represents light, the sun, power, fire, hunger and Wolf represents my ability to survive… my fierceness."