Imagine this: you’ve got a killer beat from DJ Paul, a dream collaboration brewing with Machine Gun Kelly, and Eminem on the wishlist. That was Yelawolf’s reality as he pieced together “Trunk Muzik 3,” only to have the project caught in the crossfire of the infamous feud.
Yelawolf recently explained that hairy situation on Drink Champs, revealing how things went sideways. He envisioned a firestorm of a track featuring himself, MGK, and Eminem – “the craziest three white boys record ever”, as DJ Paul put it. With his verse laid down and MGK hyped on the idea, the only missing piece was the rap god himself. But months of radio silence followed.
The timing was really bad, as Yelawolf had no idea that Eminem was crafting a diss track aimed squarely at MGK. This secrecy left Yelawolf blindsided when Eminem’s diss dropped just as “Trunk Muzik 3” was about to hit the streets. Suddenly, Yelawolf found himself caught in a hip hop maelstrom.
Here is how Yela described the events:
I can’t say that I was fully blind; there was something in the air. But honestly… DJ Paul, my brother, we were in Nashville working on “Trunk Muzik 3”. And he was like, “Bro, I’ve got this “Rowdy” beat. If I could get you, Kels and Marshall on this, it’ll be the craziest three white boys record that has ever been heard”. That was his whole thing. I was like, man, let’s go. I laid my verse, sent it to Kels, and Kels was super excited. I told him the whole idea of it. I pitched it to him. I said, “Man, I’m trying to get Marshall on this record, Paul produced it. It would be nuts if we can make this happen”. I recorded it, Kels recorded his verse, sent it to Marshall. Crickets. For months. I don’t know how long. I knew from that moment. I didn’t know there was a diss record coming. I’m on Shady [Records], and I’ve got this record coming out on Shady; it’s a Shady release. [Eminem] puts this diss record out. I had no clue. He didn’t say shit to anyone. And I’m sitting here with this record. Like, oh, man, what the fuck am I gonna do? I was within an hour of it hitting the internet. Kels facetimes me. I picked up the FaceTime, and Kels was just shaking his head, like, nah, man, nah. I was like, “Hey, I don’t know what to tell you, man. At this point, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to tell you. I haven’t spoken to Marshall, but, you know, do what you do. I guess you want to man up and go there, then go there. But I can’t tell you what’s going to happen with you and me”. I couldn’t tell him, like, this may turn into a problem with me and you. I was with Shady. If the general says go, you go. That’s my gang.
I finally got Marshall on the phone. I was probably the only human alive with both of them on the phone during that whole thing. Separately. I only had a couple of conversations with Marshall. When I did talk to Marshall, I was in Toronto, and this was after he had released the record. And then MGK drops his shit, and he drops that line, something about “Don’t take me off Yelawolf’s album”. I call Marshall. Obviously, I have the utmost respect for Marshall. I was like, “Listen, man, I like this song I got with Kels. I had a beef with Kels early on. But I met him, we handled it, we squashed it, it’s all good. And that was years ago. We’ve since become good friends. That’s my dawg. What do you want me to do?” And he said to me, “Man, no, put that shit out. People need to hear that song”. He respected my career during all of this. Also, because I didn’t know. If he had dissed MGK, and then I went and afterwards did a record with him, that would be fucked up. But that’s not how it happened. I was just in the middle.
Thankfully, respect prevailed. Understanding the timeline and Yelawolf’s position, Eminem gave the green light for the song’s release. This act of acceptance saved the collab and prevented “Trunk Muzik 3” from being dragged into the feud.
Yelawolf’s story offers a glimpse into the collateral damage that can erupt during public rap beefs. Despite the unexpected hurdles, his loyalty to Shady Records and respect for Eminem’s creative process ultimately led to a win-win situation. The collab with MGK saw the light of day, and Yelawolf’s career remained unscathed.
Watch the video below:
