ChrisToPhenoMUSIC

Album Review – Wale

By Jay Katz 15 years ago

This week InvestComics music guide Chris Winters brings a review of "Wale"! Is Wale a New Hope for Hip Hop?

I remember the first time I discovered Wale was on the cover of XXL I saw in a
grocery store a year back. He was posing with rappers Asher Roth, B.o.B. and Charles
Hamilton for the cover story titled "The 10 Freshmen: Hip-Hop’s Class of 09
Attacks". I didn’t pick it up because I’m more of a Rolling Stone kind of guy and
instead read the article online-I’ve been eyeballing these rappers and I’m happy to
be able to finally review one of them.

So Wale released his debut album, Attention Deficit and I couldn’t wait to listen to
it. It’s hard to find a rapper who’s hope for rap & hip-hop, especially when you’re
still holding on to mainstream. The album opens up with the track, "Triumph" which
pretty much has Wale showing off for 3 minutes-we get a enough of that already but
he’s a new artist and shows promise so it’s right to enter with fist swinging…at
least for their first time.

The real deal starts with "Mama Told Me"-I think this should have been the first
track than the second. It has a great epic beat and the lyrics introduces him
properly-I like to think of this as a "Let me walk back out and wipe my shoes this
time" because this makes "Triumph" sound like a joke. I said before I didn’t mind it
above since there’s not so much rambling on the album but be sure if you’re going to
fool around on a track for boasting, keep away from the ones you want people to take
you seriously on-therefore it’s filler and fillers should avoided anyway.

But Wale’s not bad-while it’s always refreshing to hear a new hyped rapper speak,
his swagger and meaningful songs reels you in like the track 90210. The song is
about a young woman’s life (obviously a model) who is going through the extreme to
keep living the life on Beverly Hills. ‘-And she throw’s up, whatever she eats, She
leaves the bathroom with a nosebleed, a regular girl, celebrity dreams,she
is…90210’-catchy indeed though and it’s been done many times, Wale keeps it from a
dull listen.

"Let It Loose" featuring Pharrel and produced by him and Chad Hugo, The Neptunes.
This track including "Pretty Girls" may sound like your typical "Girls, Girls,
Girls" (which Jay-Z did a good job on by the way) in a sarcastic way just by reading
the title but Wale is one of the ones who separates from all the other senseless
"Shake that booty" songs. I like this-it’s good to hear this done right because if
Attention Deficit was just a strict and seriously positive album you don’t want to
stink it up with all of that. Most rap & hip-hop fans think their albums should just
talk about issues that’s in the world and that’s what makes it a classic-wrong.
Believe it or not, people are going to label those rappers cry babies so you have to
have variety.

So overall, Attention Deficit is a solid album and just that-I’ve definitely heard
much better debuts but Wale makes you believe he can’t get anything but better in
the future. There’s not much to say about this album except that it’s listenable and
worth believing this is one of the hands rap & hip-hop is good in. I’m also happy
that the majority of Attention Deficit has a ’90s and old school sound that’s a good
move for him to choose but I think he could have done better.

Top 5 Songs-

5. Shades ft. Chrisette Michele – This track discusses a topic I’ve never thought
I’d hear about and Wale’s step up to discuss him going through it makes this an
original classic.

4. Mirrors ft. Bun B – One of the tracks with old school flavor I appreciate from
this album-nice duo.

3. Beautiful Bliss – A great song that sums up what Wale is bringing to the table

2. Chillin’ ft. Lady Gaga – I was surprised that Lady Gaga was anywhere near Wale at
all but she pretty much sung an awesome hook that we should already find familiar
with-a nice collaboration that I didn’t expect like Beyonce’s with her on "Video
Phone". I do have to admit she sound much M.I.A. on here…

1. Prescription – A nice conclusion with a chill-out old school which has Wale
giving us a cliff to hang on to for more from him and I think we should.

Attention Deficit’s Report Card C+

Album Cover