In November 2012, during an interview with MTV, Wale explained he would be taking a new approach with his third studio album, saying: On November 25, 2011, shortly after the release of Ambition, Wale announced on Twitter that he had already begun working on his third album. In June 2016, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 158,000 copies in its first week. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success. The Gifted was supported by four official singles- " Bad", " LoveHate Thing", " Bad (Remix)" and " Clappers". The album also features guest appearances from Meek Mill, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa and 2 Chainz among others. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Just Blaze, Jake One, Kane Beatz, Cardiak, The Runners and Lee Major among others. The album was released on Jby Maybach Music Group, Allido Records, and Atlantic Records. There's just not enough of it on Attention Deficit.The Gifted is the third studio album by American rapper Wale. A regular person, with doubts and sadness, joy and confidence. Not as a preening star filling in the gaps for a king-making debut.
#WALE THE GIFTED SALES SKIN#
On the song he raps, "They napped and slept on me/ Man, I hate black/ Skin tone, I wish I could take it back/ But rearrange my status, maybe if I was khaki/ Associating light-skinned with classy/ The minstrel show showed a me that was not me." Internal rhyme schemes, halting phrasing, thoughtful self-exploration this is Wale at his best. "Shades", featuring Chrisette Michele, is a resilient look at being a dark-skinned African-American (Wale is first generation Nigerian-American). Ironically, it's the song that directly precedes "Chillin'" that feels most truthful. This was the first step in Wale's multiple personality debacle and he seems to know as much- nothing else on Attention Deficit resembles the goofy sneakers-shouting writing here. Alas, there won't be much to gain from "Chillin'", the much-maligned Lady Gaga collaboration and botched first single. That it arrives amidst Rihanna's troubling trauma-as-promotional run is sad and fitting. "Contemplate", produced by Syience, samples Rihanna's "Question Existing" and transforms it into a dark, brooding piece about the difficulties of love. Sitek returns with the astounding "TV in the Radio", a song that both convinced me of K'Naan as a serious rapper (debatable until now) and positioned Wale properly in the mix, rapidly firing syllables like a semi-automatic. This is a unique gift- I can't recall the last time an MC seemed so tapped into a woman's perspective while still feeling the chill of romantic strain. He is distinctly interested in the female experience, even if the subject is launching him into paranoia by refusing to pick up the phone at 4 a.m. The second half reveals a bit more: Wale is obsessed with women, whether recounting the story of a coke-addicted fameball on Mark Ronson's delicate "90210", or emotionally thrashing over an ex on the loping, gorgeous "Diary". Six songs in and we're hitting all the bases, without any sense of what it means to be Wale.
anthem? "World Tour" is typically bland, R&B diva-led (in this case Jazmine Sullivan) nostalgia-stroking patter. It's a classic hip-hop raveup, loose and fun. sound, produced by longtime partner Best Kept Secret, sampling legendary Go-Go crew the Backyard Band, and featuring that group's Weensey. "Pretty Girls" is an ode to women via his native Washington D.C. "Mirrors" is sonically consistent- squealing horns and down-low bass- but also features that tried-and-true rap trope: the Bun B feature. "Mama Told Me" is a sort of post-Kanye reflection on how difficult it is coming up in the game, namedropping people in his life whose names you will not recognize.
#WALE THE GIFTED SALES TV#
Opener "Triumph", a terrific, Afro-beat-inspired production by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, indicates this will be a sonic adventure. The opposite is true: Wale seems to jump constantly from persona to persona. Wale's been slapped with the dreaded "no personality" tag in recent months. What's made so many rap debuts successful is a fluidity, a connectivity from moment to moment. Attention Deficit seems to ignore that, especially on the front end. That's about right: technically gifted, occasionally thrilling, mostly destined to be a cog in a machine. He's said the Roots' Black Thought is his favorite MC.
Initially positioned as a refreshing rejoinder in a new generation of rappers, Wale was never fit for savior-dom.
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