Wale's Attention Deficit Release Recap and Review (Very late but still very necessary)

It was a big day for Wale Folarin. Probably the most important moment of his life to date. This day was Tuesday, November 10, 2009, release date for his debut album Attention Deficit. The DMV native has worked tirelessly for years to have his voice heard among the masses. With the support of long-time fans and despite the naysayers, Wale has managed to demonstrate his lyrical and professional agility in four years. Thinking back on my first exposure to his music in 2005, I still lived in New York City at the time and I frequented a Go-Go music discussion board named Strictly Go-Go or SGGDC. I saw his name mentioned a few times and decided to do a Google search. In a couple hours, I had downloaded the Paint A Picture mixtape and learned about Kenny Burns and Studio 43. A whirlwind of changes have taken place since 2005, like his leaving of Studio 43 to his signing to Allido, Interscope and Roc Nation, guest appearances on a number of tracks, LRG endorsements, and hip-hop magazine features. A major label album debut is only the beginning of a new chapter in Wale's career. The Glass House made it to two of the four events on the release day, the first being the official album signing at DTLR in PG Plaza Mall (Hyattsville, MD), the second being a release concert held at Ibiza Nightclub (Washington, DC). It was a dreary day but fans came out in droves to show their support nonetheless. We even got an album review by The Glass House's Kristina Gray.

Rock Mikey and Tre of UCB

Wale and Southeast Slim

Wale and Tre

Wale and Ms. Kim

It's the moment we've been waiting for. After all the critically-acclaimed and hood-certified mixtapes, remixes, guest appearances, tour dates, record label wrangling, and endless media hype, Wale finally has an album to call his own. The good news? Attention Deficit is worth the wait. It's not a masterpiece but it is a strong debut that firmly asserts Wale's place in hip-hop's new class. The album shows a young artist still finding his voice and going through some serious growing pains. He's not just dealing with newfound stardom, but the pressure of being the first major DC rapper to blow up. And as he raps on the album, he's not just the heir apparent to the DMV, but "this whole f*ckin' genre".

If there's one major failing to the album it's that Wale tries to cater to everyone. The result is a debut that can feel patchwork in places, never completely congealing into more than just the sum of its parts. That's not to say Wale doesn't bring his usual out-the-box swag to the proceedings. The snappy wordplay, irreverent humor and random references are all still there. But the production is all over the map, making for an album that lacks a singular sound and is missing some of the spark from his mixtapes. Mark Ronson, 9th Wonder, Pharrell, and even TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek all handle production duties. The result is a vibrant mix of soulful melodies, electronic bleeps, go-go bounce, and Afrobeat grooves that most MC's would never even attempt to flow over.

The album kicks off with "Triumph", which finds Wale proclaiming "I won't rest until I get my respect" over polyrhythmic drums and a funky bass line straight out of Lagos circa '74. "Mama Told Me" also stands out thanks to Wale's go-hard braggadocio and in-the-pocket beats courtesy of DC's own Best Kept Secret. He gets serious on "Shades," mining painful emotional territory as he describes never feeling accepted because of his dark skin. "Chillin" is a fluffy detour featuring Lady Gaga and tons of shout-outs to home. It's probably the most straight-ahead pop song of the album, but it even feels a little too weird to be your typical radio-friendly rap jam.

K'Naan, Chrisette Michelle, and Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry also make cameos on the album. But the one guest spot that makes no sense at all is Gucci Mane on a slightly re-tooled version of "Pretty Girls." Originally delivered by The Backyard Band eight years ago, the Best Kept Secret and UCB-backed track released earlier this year was already bangin' to begin with. And if it ain't broke then don't fix it, right? I guess not, because someone thought Gucci Mane needed to be on here, even though he adds absolutely nothing to the song. The one Southern rapper who does feel right at home though is Bun B. He pimp walks right over the stutter-stop beats of "Mirrors" and ends up outshining Wale in the process.

It's like he can't quite keep up with the hip-hop veteran and sounds wobbly and unsure of himself. And really, that's the biggest drawback to the whole album. Wale is still pretty green. He's accomplished a lot in the last few years and earned tons of praise, but like any new artist he needs time to mature and perfect his style. Attention Deficit is no doubt a promising and solid start. Now we want to see what else DC's first real rap contender can do. - Kristina Gray, Music journalist for The Glass House