Yelawolf & Prof Sell Out The Astro!

Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming

Two legends of the underground came through Omaha Sunday (7.14) and absolutely destroyed The Astro theater! Yelawolf and Prof have been making moves in the hip-hop world for over ten years and their rabid fanbase showed up in droves. With the weather outside hitting the upper 90s the absolutely packed Astro was swealtering. But it didn't stop the artists from putting on a killer show. Let's get into it!

The first act was GRIP a rapper from Georgia. He's currently signed to Shady records (Eminem label). He got the crowd pumped up with his fast flows and bouncing harmonies.

Next up was Cowboy Killer from Nashville. He's currently signed to Yelawolf's Slumerican label. With a live guitarist and trumpet player this was a bit of a switch-up from the first act but the party energy turned up in a flash. Doing some research I found that Cowboy Killer linked up with Yelawolf a few years back and they collaborated on the song "Bob Barker". The video for the song even has a cameo from Bam Margera. Cowboy Killer has said that he sees a lot of his future in Yelawolf and that they're kindred spirits. I could definitely see that as Cowboy Killer mixes up rock, country, and hip-hop in his songs much like Yelawolf. Cowboy Killer has been on several national tours and is still grinding. You can check out more of Cowboy Killer on all streaming platforms.

After Cowboy Killer it was time for the first headliner of the evening, Prof. Hailing from Minneapolis, Prof has been making music for over 15 years without any help from a label! There were so many Prof shirts in the crowd you could tell he's been a Midwest favorite for a long time.

As the music kicked in Prof stepped out wearing a ski mask and a menacing look. You could tell he was fired up and ready to kill the mic. From the very first lyric the crowd was so loud singing back every word! During the third song Prof hopped into the crowd and everyone pushed forward for a high five a little bit of hip-hop sweat. Throughout Prof's set he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. He had a guy shooting video and he asked the crowd to split down the middle for a new song. The right side was to say "This one" and the left side "That One". During the chorus he went back and forth "This one, that one, this one, that one" and the crowd was so loud singing along. I can't wait to see the video they captured!

Towards the very end Prof had a giant inflatable raft and surfed over the crowd going almost all the way to the back before directing everyone to push him back to the stage. It was pretty wild. Prof put in over 80 minutes before thanking everyone for their support. If you get the chance you should definitely see a Prof show, it's a hoot and a half!

After a long stage transition it was time for the legendary Yelwolf! I've seen Yelawolf twice now and both times his stage setup has been super impressive. The first time I saw him he had the back half of a cutlass supreme on stage and this time he had a train! I love to see artists bringing cool production like this. Flames and pyro are great but this set piece was so unique and fit Yelawolf to a T.

Walking out in some shades and a denim vest Yelawolf had his trademark southern hip-hop style on full display. The crowd roared with excitment as he broke into "Unnatural Born Killer" from 2019's Ghetto Cowboy. While most of the crowd sang along in harmony you could see some fights starting to pop up. With the extreme heat and packed crowd I'm sure the tension was super high. Even before Yelawolf's set there were several people being pulled out for heat exhaustion. Drinking water at a show is a must! I opted for a lukewarm Dasani before finally caving and getting a can of Liquid Death. I'm not sure what the hype is there, it had a weird metal taste. Give me an ice cold Kirkland and I'm set, shout out Dave Campbell (IYKYK)!

Anyways, Yelawolf played "Catfish Billy" and "Catfish Billy 2" consecutively and the pit exploded with activity. The security guards tried to break it up as Yelawolf stoked the crowd, "We got some rowdy folks in here tonight!" This same thing happened during "Catfish Billy 2" the last time I was at a Yelawolf show. I'm not sure what it is about that song but it makes people want to fight. Yelawolf came down from the stage and jumped in the crowd surfed in the first couple rows soaking up all the energy. Through the show Yelawolf told lots of cool little stories about songwriting, being on the road, and coming up in the hip-hop genre over the years. He's a true entertainer who knows how to give the people their money's worth!

Yelawolf's set covered a lot of ground with several songs coming from Love Story and Trunk Muzik. Personally I loved "Pop The Trunk", "Til It's Gone", "Tennessee Love", and "You and Me". Oh, I almost forgot about the acapella cover of "Friends In Low Places"! Who doesn't love a little Garth here and there. As the show was coming to a close Yelawolf climbed up on the DJ platform to sing "You and Me". He went on to explain that writing has always come easy to him, that he has a gift, but "You and Me" was one of the hardest songs he ever wrote. It's a love letter to us the fans. Throughout all his ups and downs the fans have been there for him to lift up and support. With how packed the Astro was I know Yelawolf will be coming back for years and I couldn't be more stoked. I know I have a huge list of must-see bands, but Yelawolf for sure has a spot on there. This was a special one and I'm so glad I got to cover it.

Huge thanks to Prof and Yelawolf Managment and Mammoth Live for photo access and to the Astro for the great hospitality. Thanks for reading and we'll see you at the next one!

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