But the fans still followed him religiously and focused on his album cuts. Yet, he rolled out his next album by releasing Power Trip and a TLC record as his singles. Cole from his mixtapes and gave him another chance. Despite dropping a triumvirate of commercial records - Work Out, then Can’t Get Enough, and Nobody’s Perfect - fans still revered the J. Cole - whose debut album was considered mediocre by fans and Cole himself - was given a pass due to the album’s commercial success. The rest of his discography: filled with Afrocentricity, social commentary, and pure bars was ignored.īy comparison, J. But the success of “Lotus” began a trend: Wale was defined as a “corny” emcee that made poetic songs for women. He found commercial success with the song “Lotus Flower Bomb” on his gold-certified album Ambition. But in one of the most herculean efforts in hip-hop history, Wale delivered a show stealing verse on the unforgettable club anthem “No Hands.” Soon after, Rick Ross signed him to his Maybach Music Group imprint, and he entered into a management agreement with Roc Nation. Wale’s major label debut featured the awful Lady Gaga-featured song “Chillin.” Without warning, his album flopped Interscope dropped him and everyone thought that his career was over. His career trajectory demonstrates the hypocrisy of music fans and the power of personal narrative and branding. That was earnest, but for some reason, the public has never taken to that Wale. TIDAL is the first music service with High Fidelity sound quality, High… Groundhog Day Listen to Groundhog Day by Wale on TIDAL. The true Wale, as far as I can tell, is the guy who responded to J. His well-publicized battle with depression is starkly juxtaposed against the high-spirited musical backdrop SHiNE is supposed to represent. Wale does not seem comfortable on many of his latest records. Wale’s albums have always had an eclectic flavor that demonstrate his wide-ranging tastes in fashion, sports, music, wrestling, and his unique background (a Nigerian-American, college dropout, ex-athlete, from Washington, DC). Fashion Week is far from one of Wale’s best singles.Īccording to some, its inclusion on SHiNE (Wale’s upcoming album) vindicates detractors who claim that Wale has been unable to construct a distinctive sound. The song sounds like the unremarkable offspring of two other Wale singles ( Slight Work and Focused). Such a lukewarm record is surprising from an emcee who justifiably believes that he is the most underrated rapper of his generation. It’s certainly not the type of song you drop to gain momentum after Kendrick Lamar released the ferocious - and paradoxically titled - Humble. That said, there is nothing wrong with this song, but it’s not an attention grabber either. Or do they? To be honest, I have never met a G-Eazy fan so it is awkward when he collaborates with anyone but Britney Spears (that is no diss, but I have no idea who his target audience is). The two emcees don’t exactly have overlapping fan bases. It’s a collaboration that few people expected, and even fewer anticipated. On April 10, Wale released the video for his new song Fashion Weekfeaturing G-Eazy. The Curse of the Gifted Wale is arguably his generation’s greatest lyricist, why hasn’t the world taken notice, and will it plague him forever?
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