Album Review: Wale – 'The Album About Nothing'

Everybody loves to hate on Wale. It has become the cool thing to indulge in on the hip-hop internets for years now and the D.C. native is prone to emotional outbursts which are essentially softballs for his trolls, allowing them to hit moonshot home runs by means of their shade-filled diss tweets. From his ill-advised presence on generic Rick Ross/MMG trap records to his legendary threats to Complex over their ‘50 Best Albums Of 2013’ list (The Gifted was nowhere to be found), Wale has persevered through many trials and tribulations. But with his latest body of work The Album About Nothing, Wale has attempted to bring his music back to its essence. Building off his 2008 project The Mixtape About Nothing (the tape that gained him initial notoriety), Wale hit the studio with his spiritual advisor Jerry Seinfeld and created an album that provides introspective insights as well as commentary on the ills of present-day society. However, this honorable artistic endeavor doesn’t quite reach the ambition of its creator and, in consequence, the album falls short of its lofty goals.

Kendrick Lamar Shakes Up The Super Bowl With Bold Drake Diss And Surprise Guests

Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl 59 halftime performance was nothing short of legendary, leaving fans buzzing with surprise cameos and bold moments that took his long-running feud with Drake to new heights. Kicking off with an unreleased song snippet and followed by “Squabble Up” from his latest album GNX, Kendrick immediately set the tone for a game-changing performance. Fans eagerly waited to see if Kendrick would play his diss track Not Like Us, especially with Drake's ongoing lawsuit against him and his label for defamation and harassment. Lamar's performance included an unexpected appearance by SZA and a quirky cameo from Serena Williams, along with Samuel L. Jackson’s comedic interruptions, all building the suspense around the Drake drama. In the middle of his performance, Kendrick turned up the heat, looking straight into the camera and directly addressing Drake with his famous lyrics, “I heard you like them young," as fans held their breath. Despite the tension, Kendrick censored himself when it came time to call Drake a "certified lover boy" and avoided saying “pedophile,” which had been widely speculated. Social media lit up with mixed reactions, with some fans mocking the performance as a "mid mashup" and others noting the intense hostility toward Drake. With the hashtag #KendrickBowl trending, it’s clear that Kendrick’s performance was a cultural moment that pushed boundaries—but has he gone too far, or is this just another chapter in hip-hop history? Only time will tell, and Drake has yet to respond.

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When first digging into The Album About Nothing, on the surface there is an authentic level of quality that causes one to wonder if Wale is actually going to deliver on his ‘this is a return to form’ promise. The go-go (D.C. funk) inspired intro kicks things off appropriately and it leads into one of the standout tracks on the album “The Helium Balloon”, featuring fine production from DJ Dahi and Sonny Digital. From Wale’s lyrical performance to Seinfeld tying together the song thematically, this effort is perhaps the best representation of what Wale was going for on this project. Other tracks such as the J Cole-featured, racially relevant “The Pessimist” also prove to be compelling because when Wale finds himself in a genuine comfort zone, the results are hard to deny. The DMV representative has always been a dependable lyricist and his fluent DC accent powered flow works wonders when heard over proper production. But despite Wale’s talent and the encouraging subject matter, there are too many moments on The Album About Nothing which either seem forced or simply lack execution.