Album: The Album About Nothing
Artist: Wale
Rating: 8/10
It seems as though the 4th time is the charm for DC native Wale. In 2008, the Seinfeld themed mixtape, The Mixtape About Nothing, was released to critical acclaim. In 2010, More About Nothing, came about, using Seinfeld again as a theme or a canvas to paint a vivid picture for his listeners. In December, a preview of The Album About Nothing was released in the form of a mixtape titled Festivus, prepping us for the main course. Teasing the release of this album since his outro of his last album, The Gifted, Wale has brought comedian Jerry Seinfeld on board to deliver the nonsensical, yet deep, rantings he was always known for. A year later, the album is finally upon us and, well, this one is for the core Wale fans. What we see here is a return to familiar territory.
Many listeners’ chief complaints about Wale since his MMG signing was that he switched up and it was his original no-holds-barred raps that made people truly enjoy his music. During his stay at MMG, we’ve seen his catalog somewhat go all over the place. However, with the return to the Seinfeld concept, there’s finally a Wale album I truly enjoy.
What makes this album stand out the most is the synergy between Wale and Jerry Seinfeld. Although, Seinfeld isn’t a rapper, there’s a connection between them and the views they share of society. On ‘The Middle Finger’, Jerry starts off by saying “They don’t believe half the shit they say. People wanna talk. Yeah, it’s fun to talk“. This is used as the template for the song because Wale has many detractors and people who, to him, just talk. The chemistry between these two is incredible, even if it’s just a sound byte of Jerry from the show, Wale may very well be the only artist who can take what Jerry is saying and paint an even bigger artist simply because they posses that synchronization. On “The Pessimist”, a sound clip from an episode of Seinfeld is being played. The lord George Costanza drops knowledge. “I Don’t want hope, hope is killing me. My dream is to become hopeless. When you’re hopeless you don’t care, and when you don’t care, that indifference it makes you attractive“. Wale intricately plays on that sound clip by detailing the problems surrounding society along with a hook from J.Cole. The song is a standout.
The albums stands out the most in the beginning, welcoming listeners to an audible Seinfeld episode minus the laugh track. From the very beginning it’s stated, “I think it’s ’bout time I sing of nothing“. It’s just what we’ve all been waiting for, Wale. For a long time, Wale was coming off as slam poet instead of a rapper whom many of us truly enjoyed in ’08. Content-wise, there’s something for everyone. There’s enough here to keep even the most stubborn person entertained, to an extent. The beat selection is on point, featuring joints from DJ Dahi, Jake One, and others. There’s never a dull moment in terms of production. With that being said, the album is not without flaws. There are a few tracks that could be done away with, one specifically is ‘The One Time in Houston’. The issue here being, there is just too much going on when it could’ve been left as a skit instead of a full song. At fifteen songs, the length of the album, overall, isn’t bad. However, with the throwaway tracks, it may feel as though it drags on.
As a fan of both Seinfeld and Wale, I can truly say I enjoyed this album. While paying homage to one of the best sitcoms of all time, Wale manages to get formula for an album right. Even with the tracks I didn’t seem to enjoy, there’s so much content that can be appreciated on this album. There’s enough Seinfeld references on this album to make anyone want to purchase a box set on eBay and binge watch for a month straight. With that being said, I give The Album About Nothing an 8 out of 10. The fourth time is definitely the charm.
