A lot of musical team-ups between previously established artists make sense on paper — and then for others, you just have to listen to understand how in the hell it might make any sense. Sometimes Y – a new project comprised of rapper Yelawolf and singer-songwriter Shooter Jennings — certainly falls into the latter category, but the act’s first song, the fittingly titled “Make Me a Believer,” should go a long way toward quelling skeptics. A thumpin’ rocker that brings to mind open roads, leather jackets and Southern nights, “Make Me a Believer” is the first taste of Sometimes Y’s debut project, Sometimes Y, which drops March 11.
“Shooter Jennings and I have been planning on working together for years. We finally buckled down and made an album and now I’m like, ‘What the f–k were we waiting on?!’ Sometimes Y is the name of the band/group because of the question we bring to music and the listener,” Yelawolf tells Billboard. “It also gives us the freedom to do anything and make any style we choose. I didn’t know what was gonna happen in the studio, but we ended up writing the entire album on the spot. Once we found the mojo, it was the most electric vibe I’ve experienced making music. And at the end of the day that’s all you’re looking for, a good time. The overall feel of the album is something new, a fresh sound from a group of guys that are clearly hungry and enjoy what we do. And what is rock n’ roll anyway if it ain’t lawless?! Personally, I’m ready to shake sh-t up and have fun!”
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“With ‘Make Me A Believer’ we set out to make a song with a crushing rhythm, inspired by the hard-drivin’ rock n’ roll ancestors that came before it, who once melted the faces of leather-clad rock concert parking lot pre-gamers,” Jennings explains of the song’s intentions. “Yelawolf’s defiant and open-hearted words needed a Goliath of stomping rhythm to set a fire in the minds of today’s directionless youth.”
While the duo might seem incongruous on first blush, the two actually have a number of things in common, in addition to their decades-long friendship: They were both born in 1979, they’re both Tennessee boys (Yelawolf was born in Alabama but spent much of his childhood in Antioch, Tenn. and Nashville; Jennings grew up in Nashville) and they’ve both drawn on cowboy/outlaw imagery in their careers.
The 10 tracks on Sometimes Y (pre-order here) were produced by the Grammy-winning Jennings at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles. Check out the album’s tracklist and the video for “Make Me a Believer” below.
1. Sometimes Y
2. Hole In My Head
3. Rock & Roll Baby
4. Make Me A Believer
5. Shoe String
6. Radio
7. Jump Out The Window
8. Catch You On The Other Side
9. Fucked Up Day
10. Moonshiner’s Run
