Eminem & Yelawolf Have ‘VIBE’ Covered

Robbie Daw | November 18, 2011 10:25 am

Fresh off their BET Hip Hop Awards cypher (which also boasted Joe Budden and Slaughterhouse on the mic), Eminem and his Shady Records protege Yelawolf grace the cover of VIBE‘s December issue for a piece that asks the question “Is hip hop finally color blind?” As you can guess from that cover line, controversial topics are not shied away from in the interview. In the new issue, Em and 31-year-old Yela rattle off their lighthearted nicknames for each other — for the record: White Sheep, Beige Dog and Cracker Nuts — with regards to being white rappers in game that’s predominantly dominated by black artists.

Yelawolf, whose real name is Michael Atha, then discusses his personal avoidance of using the N word in his lyrics: “[In Alabama] we have a dark history concerning the relationship between black and white people. I’m not a role model by any means, but if I said it around the house I got popped in the mouth.”

Those who pick up the issue will also get a very detailed history of the up-and-coming rapper’s drug use.

Radioactive, Yelawolf’s debut LP for Shady, will join the holiday shopping fray this Monday (November 21), when it will go toe-to-toe with Rihanna’s much-anticipated sixth album Talk That Talk.

Guests on Yela’s LP include Eminem (naturally), Lil Jon, Mystikal, Kid Rock and Fefe Dobson.