Wale-Attention Deficit

It's time for some more pre-Bonnaroo antics. 10 more days until I hit the road with my boy Jake. Can't wait.

Bonnaroo isn't exactly a showcase for hip-hop. Sure, it has hosted it's fair share of moguls. Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, and this year Jay-Z are some of the biggest names in rap. Ever. Bonnaroo has has rap artists ever since there first year, but, until this year ( maybe last), that;s not why people go to the festival. Now, in it's effort to appeal to music tastes of all appetites, B.o.B, Kid Cudi, Jay Electronica, and Wale, as well as various other rap groups from different cultures will be rockin all week long.

Wale (pronounced Wah-lay) is the one I'm most excited to see. He's a fresh-face, he raps exceptionally well, and he lays down some sick beats. He's generally well-rounded. He's best known for his collaboration with Lady Gaga, "Chillin". Don't let Lady Gaga's name discourage you. She's only in it for a few measures, and she sounds better than usual. Much to my liking, I checked out the album after hearing the single, and I've gotta admit, it's one of the best rap album's I've heard in a while. There's not a weak link the whole way through, and he hits it out of the park in a few songs.

Wale, born Olubamale Victor Akintimehin, was raised in suburban D.C., where he began calling himself "The Ambassador of Rap for The Capitol". He started making music in college, but eventually dropped out and set all of his effort on his rap career. He released some of his songs that got play on local radio and gradually began raising more and more eyebrows until he was signed by Interscope in 2008. Attention Deficit was released in 2009, gaining pretty good record sales and lots of critical acclaim.

Attention Deficit starts out with a huge splash of what Wale can do. "Triumph", sounds like a robotic swing band gone haywire. The track is full of surprises, and Wale has one of the best flows you can ask for, rolling through lines like its as easy as walking down the street. The track is one of the best on the album, slightly reminiscent of Jay-Z's famous opener from The Blueprint, "The Ruler's Back".

The two hit's are very solid tracks that transcend a lot of modern popular rap, not just talent-wise, but in it's material that has more substance than just hoes and drugs. "Chillin" slips in and out of a great Atari-glitched stutter beat that has a tinge of Passion Pit flowing through the hook. Lady Gaga does a pretty good job of not being a complete music-raping talent-wasting freak, too. "Pretty Girls" has a great beat with a huge voice singing the hook, but there is a hug problem with the whole thing. The very top note of the line repeated throughout is about 1/16 off-key, and this makes me want to destroy something in my immediate vicinity with a hammer. I cringe painfully every time the otherwise great voice fails to get up to the pitch over and over again until I start to rip my hair out. It's a real shame too, because Wale does some of his best rapping, and Gucci adds an unespected great verse too. It hurts to think about.

The best track on the record comes in the simplest form of song. "90210", a cautionary tale of the near impossibility of trying to find succes in Hollywood from a female stand-point. Wale is accompanied by no more than a Pokemon-esque blip track and some light bass, and his talent shines through without the distractions of his elaborate beats and guest artists. The tale is sad, but un-ashamed in its ugliness, which is something many rappers won't get near; scared it will tarnish their bad-boy image. I guess the songs not about him, but I still feel some of his humbleness in the young girl's sad life-story.

The end of the album starts to drag out with slower jams, lacking the punch to keep things interesting. "Contemplate" especially lulls on without ever really being that relevant to anything in the album; musically, rhythmically, or lyrically. In another act of Jay-Z, "TV in THe Radio" (Featuring my boy K'naan) has virtually the exact same beat as Hovva's "Empire State of Mind". They are eerily similar, almost to the point of suspicion. Weird Stuff.

Despite the album rolling gradually down-hill, it's still worth a good listen or two. Wale is one of the most promising up and comers in the business right now, and with a few adjustments, he should be putting out some outstanding albums in the near future.