Born in Gadsden, Alabama, and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, he embarked on his recording career in 2005, releasing four mixtapes to positive local reception.

[4] He entered a joint venture deal with Eminem's Shady Records[5] to release his second studio album, Radioactive (2011), which peaked at number 27 on the Billboard 200.

His third album, Love Story (2015) peaked at number three on the chart and spawned the single "Till It's Gone," which received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

He spent much of his time in Antioch, Tennessee, and attended Carter Lawrence Middle School in Nashville, which is located near the Edgehill Homes apartment projects.

[14] Yelawolf was also featured among the XXL's Top 11 Freshmen of 2011, releasing several songs on the magazine's yearly Freshman mixtape, along with Kendrick Lamar, Cyhi Da Prynce and Big K.R.I.T., among others.

[16] On May 18, Yelawolf announced his album's first single, titled "Gangsta of Love", produced by Jim Jonsin and featuring Cyhi Da Prynce.

On August 8, 2011, Yelawolf released the first official single from his album, titled "Hard White (Up in the Club)", which features guest vocals from Southern hip hop producer Lil Jon.

League, Diplo, The Audibles, Pooh Bear and WLPWR of SupaHotBeats, and features from Eminem, Kid Rock, Lil Jon, Fefe Dobson, Mystikal, Shawty Fatt, Rittz, Killer Mike, and Gangsta Boo among others.

The EP's lead single, titled "Push 'Em", features background vocals by Transplants members Skinhead Rob and Tim Armstrong, and was released as a free download on September 12.

Yelawolf stated that all the tracks on the album will have a music video and during an article with Rolling Stone, both he and Barker hinted at a sequel to the EP.

[22][23] Due to a stage diving incident which caused a ruptured spleen, Yelawolf decided to delay the album's recording process.

[27] On March 12 a third song from Trunk Muzik Returns was released titled "Gangster" featuring fellow rappers ASAP Rocky and Big Henry.

Between then, Yelawolf remained active promoting the album, releasing weekly freestyles that sampled rock classics such as Pink Floyd's "Money".

[32] and The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Voodoo Chile[33] Yelawolf described the freestyles as a "mini-sequel" to his 2008 effort, Stereo, which also was heavily influenced by classic rock.

[36] The album is considered Yelawolf's most celebrated release among his fan base, but was found to be polarizing with critics due to the mixture of country and hip hop.

[37] Two singles from the album, "Till It's Gone" and "Best Friend,” (the later featuring Eminem) have amassed over 100 million views on YouTube, and eventually received platinum certifications from the RIAA.

[41] He alluded to the record being much darker than its predecessor, and also being produced entirely by himself and constant collaborators DJ Klever and Bones Owens, which were also members of his tour band.

During this time, Yelawolf also drastically changed his country style to a contemporary hip hop image, before retreating from public life for over six months.

[citation needed] During this period, the status of the unreleased Trial by Fire album and Yelawolf's involvement with Shady Records were left undetermined.

On the diss track "Rap Devil", Machine Gun Kelly states "And don't be a sucker and take my verse off of Yelawolf's album, thank you".

[61] Following the period between the completion of Trunk Muzik III and its release, Yelawolf hinted he was beginning work on his sixth studio album, titled Ghetto Cowboy.

[62] During this time, Yelawolf dyed his hair red, which he claims is homage to Opie Taylor, a character from The Andy Griffith Show.

To the surprise of his fans, on March 11, 2022, Yelawolf released a rock project "Sometimes Y" with Shooter Jennings, departing from his usual music style.

[68] The Guardian reported that "In contrast to the gilded cage of privilege inhabited by Jay-Z and Kanye West, Yelawolf depicts everyday rural poverty with the evocative precision of a master storyteller".

"[citation needed] Yelawolf's early introduction to hip-hop came as a result of his mother's boyfriend being a sound designer for Aerosmith around the time that the Run-DMC version of "Walk This Way" was released, and made friends with the trio.

Yelawolf recalls Run-DMC visiting his childhood home and giving him some Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill cassette tapes.

He has also shared that the hip-hop and R&B collective Dungeon Family has greatly influenced his production style, as well as Three 6 Mafia, J Dilla, Pete Rock, CL Smooth, Black Star, Hieroglyphics, and the Brooklyn-based trio Digable Planets.

[70] Some of Yelawolf's other musical influences include Johnny Cash, Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kraftwerk, The Doors, Fleetwood Mac, Metallica, Portishead, and N.W.A, among others.