The best thing about the post-Kanye West, post-Lil Wayne
hip-hop climate, is that rappers aren’t afraid to be a little bit quirkier than
they had been over the previous ten years. Wale clearly basks in the afterglow
of that thematic breakthrough, and Attention Deficit benefits greatly from the
kind-of-random pop culture musings and personal revelations that would’ve been
taboo on a rap record just seven years ago. But what more would you expect from
a rapper who used “Seinfeld” as a theme for a mixtape?
The D.C. sensation finally hits the shelves with a major label
debut and he’s sure to make his mark. One of the wittier rappers in the game,
the rapper born Olubawale Victor Folarin comes out the gates blazing on Attention
Deficit, and establishes his uniqueness on a variety of
tracks addressing the lack of realness in mainstream hip-hop. On “Mirror” Wale chronicles his
own personal struggles and on “Mama Told Me,” he name-drops on everyone from former
second-string New York Knicks guard Chris Childs to Glass Joe from “Mike Tyson’s
Punch-OUT!!!” The go-go inflected, Gucci Mane-assisted “Pretty Girls” is an
undeniable dancefloor filling jam, and “TV In the Radio” features a brilliant
hook by K’Naan and some of Wale’s most nimble rhymes to date.
Of course, in this age of endless online ‘mixtapes’ and
YouTube clips, a debut isn’t really a debut album anymore. Today, a debut album
is more of a culmination and — when it succeeds — an affirmation of the buzz that
was generated prior to its release. Unlike many of his contemporaries (Kid
Cudi, Asher Roth) who generated similar pre-release buzz and catered to similar
tastes, Wale smashes expectations and delivers one of the best debut albums of
the year—in any genre. As the first decade of the 21st century comes
to an end, it’s a safe bet to say that Wale has leapfrogged to the head of the
class. The true leader of the new school. –todd williams
