“Flyer than the rest of them” repeatedly seeps through the speakers of my boombox. It’s 2009 (I didn’t have a ipod at this time bare with me.) Ironically, I never knew that was Wale on the hook nor did I even know that was rightfully his song. I solely listened to the song because of lil wayne and my obsession to consume any new music he would put out. A year has passed, and hip-hop is at it’s worst. Wayne was on a decline after his highly successful album “Tha Carter 3”, and hip-hop was overtaken by bubblegum singles and dance crazes alike. Then the new school of lyricists arrived such as J. Cole, Wale, and Drake. They were perceived as the saviors of hip-hop; to defibrillate the once healthy beating heart that was no more. Thus, “More About Nothing” comes out and is greeted with much fanfare. Wale’s lyrical prowess shines throughout the project, he touches on the high’s and low’s of the industry and the turmoil he went through with his failed first commercial album, “Attention Deficit”, and in essence he wanted to prove he would not lose and that’s what people admired about him most and so did I. That project is considered to be one of the greatest mixtapes ever and I would concur with anyone that holds that notion. After solidifying himself once again in the minds of hip hop heads he strikes a deal with MMG, releasing his second commercial project “Ambition”. He carries some of the same narratives from his previous works and ultimately it is a success, but shortly after, his next few major projects were looked upon as subpar and drew the ire of distaste with critics and social media hip-hop fans. That being said why has Wale descent from being maybe a top five MC has been so vigorously rapid? This is my theory, he has no personality in his music. Whereas J.Cole has his storytelling to lean back on and his music is something fans can connect with on a day by day level, Drake has music that harkens back to that one ex that fucked you over but you may still have feelings for them and constantly talked about his upbringing, and Kendrick lamar touches on political issues, and with his very first commercial album told remnants of his life story on wax. Wale has tried to do this with singles and poetry skits but they don’t hit home, and simply I think his music does not connect to the people that are not his fans because they don’t know who he is. I’m a Wale fan myself, listened to every project he puts out and I still do not know who he is. I walk away from every project like “damn this guy can rap his ass off but something is missing.” That something is personality, although he does raps like he’s the smartest person in the room and most of his fans will attest to that he is that guy, but that is not the case. Fans will shield their adoration with him and lash out to say “you don’t like Wale because he goes over your head, he’s too lyrical for you to understand.” Listen I know this because I used to be that guy and honestly he may go over people’s head at times, but that is not the reason people have a disconnect to his music. Simply put Wale albums aren’t among any classics because they do not make you feel any kind of way. He is very talented, a wordsmith, but he leaves you with nothing but jumbled up words that rings hollow in the minds and hearts of his listeners.
-Darryl Robinson