Wale – More About Nothing (Mixtape Review)
You see Kramer and Wale are on opposite sides? Just pointing that out. It’s been a while since we’re heard something from Wale. Ever since his critically solid debut album didn’t exactly do numbers (partly due to the marketing scheme behind it and the singles chose for it), for some time Wale closed himself off from everyone. He even went as far as to tweet that he wasn’t doing any type of interviews until his next mixtape came out.
You can’t blame him though; the mixtape scene is how he got recognized.
Wale made a name for himself via his first widely recommended mixtape, “The Mixtape About Nothing”, and due to the creativity behind the tape powered by his lyrics, it caught on with a lot of hip-hop heads. Some even going as far as to name him the leader of the new generation of rap music. Whether that’s jumping to conclusions or not, the music has been solid from that point. So it’s only right Wale makes a sequel to it…right?
“More About Nothing”, the second entry to the “Nothing” series, has it’s high points and it’s low points, but overall gives a better package than the first. Although it’s not as original (because, after all, that angle’s been done before, even if it is by him), there are still moments of genius included here to be on the lookout for.
The Good:
Wale has a good ear for music, and production-wise, it sounds good. The Seinfeld snippets link the songs together pretty well, and Wale delivers lyrically for the most part. Also, each song still has its now-typical plain subliminal title still in effect. For example…
“The Eyes of the Tiger” sounds like an interesting song before you even listen to it. The beginning of the song suspiciously starts with an interlude not from Seinfeld, but from the now-infamous Tiger Woods phone call that started Woods’ downward spiral of shame. The song then proceeds to come in with one of the best song narratives I’ve heard this year as Wale jumps and begins to rap from the perspective of Woods during his tough times.
He does the story telling again on “Friends N Strangers.” Not going to ruin that one, but the lyrics are still cleverly put together and illustrate the point quite well (i.e. “She used to call me late / one day she called me early to tell me that she late..”)
Premium hip-hop narratives really don’t get much better than this unless your name is Andre 3000.
The Bad:
I’ve said this before via Twitter, but some rap flows aren’t exactly for Wale. Sometimes he tries to switch ad rap faster, and in certain songs it doesn’t seem to work. Also, there’s a couple of songs that, although the verses are nicely done, seem to lack something in the hook, and essentially, makes the song fall apart.
Then…there’s the Waka Flocka Flame and Roscoe Dash feature, which wouldn’t have been so bad if Waka didn’t rap, but that’s just my opinion.
Bottom Line:
This is yet another solid release from Wale that should keep his fans happy until another project comes out. At the very least, check it for the highlights. The mixtape flows well, and besides the occasional, awkwardly put together track, or the Waka feature, it’s still one of the better mixtapes to come out this year.
I’m not really saying nothin’ though; just check it for yourself.
Eljay’s Favorites:
- “The Eyes Of the Tiger”
- “The Friends N Strangers” feat. Tre (of UCB)
- “The Breeze (It’s Cool)” feat. Wiz Khalifa and Tre (of UCB)
- “The Black N Gold” feat. Sam Sparro
Source: K1ngeljay
Do you think this will be as good or better than his previous mixtapes? Leave a comment and let us know what YOU think.
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