Review: Wale – Attention Deficit

Wale’s highly anticipated debut album dropped a week ago, and I could hardly wait to get my hands on it. While Attention Deficit is a stellar album, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed after multiple listens.  Read why and the rest of my review after the jump.

The first time I heard a Wale verse was on “Rising Up” from The Roots excellent album Rising Down. When he spit, “So real rappers ain’t eating they Olsen-twinning,” it was a line that made me laugh and rewind his verse. Ever since then, that’s what I have to expect from the emcee out of Washington, D.C., witty lyricism and the ability to speak on serious subjects. While Wale’s debut album, Attention Deficit, is no doubt an excellent coming out party for a man who has been around for years already, it just isn’t quite up to the standards that I have held Wale to ever since I discovered him.

Besides a select group of tracks, the unique and original lyricism that has defined Wale on his previous five mixtapes is hard to find. While the opening track, “Triumph,” is a perfect track for Wale to introduce himself on, I was surpised to find him using tired similies, such as “Mike Vick, if y’all niggas bark y’all through.” For someone who has used obscure sports references his entire career, I was a bit disappointed to find him using one of the most well known and rapped about football players in the game right now. Besides the excellent “TV In The Radio,” Wale seems to hold back from his usual excellent wordplay, and that disappointed me. I was hoping he would showcase his lyrical talents to the mainstream when instead he shied away from it.

The other thing that disappointed me with this album is Wale’s tendency to not really address the subject matter. On one of my favorite tracks, “The Kramer,” off of Wale’s excellent Mixtape About Nothing, Wale really speaks on the problems of subconscious racism and its effects on black youth. Yet on “Mirrors” and “90210″ Mr. Folarin doesn’t seem to actually say much on the issues of judging a person and the celebrity lifestyle, respectively.

There are so many positives on this album though. As I mentioned before, “TV In The Radio” shines as the best track on the album, with Wale showcasing his wordplay and K’naan providing an excellent third verse. On songs like “Shades” and “Diary,” Wale does delve into problems he seems to have direct experience with, instead of lightly addressing the issue like  in the songs I have mentioned above. “Pretty Girls” bumps despite the garbage verse from Gucci Mane in the middle. “Beautiful Bliss” showcases Wale and J. Cole as the true future of hip-hop, and the bonus track “Center of Attention” is one of the best songs Wale has ever made. The songs that I have mentioned above as disappointing are still good songs, and I have listened to the album all the way through. I just can’t help feeling a bit disappointed with the album as a whole. That being said, the album is another step in the right direction for hip-hop as its young guns begin to right the ship. DMV should be proud of Wale.

How do you guys feel?  Did you feel a bit disappointed with Wale? Did he not come as hard as he could lyrically?  Let me know in the comments.