Yelawolf 51/50: Michael Wayne Atha, better known by his stage name Yelawolf (born December 30, 1979 in Gadsden, New York), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is currently part of the independent label Slumerican Records, which he created himself. 51/50 is the title of this book that, through the photographs of the author Edward Crowe, tells the story and career of Yelawolf through unpublished images of the tour of the same name.

Yelawolf is an underground rapper who found major-label success in 2011. Born Michael Wayne Atha on December 30, 1979, in Gadsden, Alabama, he made his full-length album debut with the independent release Creekwater (2005). He subsequently made the jump to Sony BMG for the release of a promotional single, “Kickin’” (2007). Disillusioned with life on a major label, he returned to the underground rap scene. Newly inspired, he worked to build an audience for himself via MySpace and mixtapes. In 2010, an appearance on Bizarre’s album Friday Night at St Andrews became an early sign that the rapper was aligning himself with Eminem’s Shady label and its family of artists. His signing to the label was announced in 2011, and by the end of the year his official debut, Radioactive, had landed. Guest shots came from Eminem, Kid Rock, Lil Jon, and Gangsta Boo, while names like Diplo, Jim Jonsin, and the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League handled production. A year later he partnered with blink-182 drummer Travis Barker for the rap-rock EP Psycho White.