The central conceit, for example, might read on paper like nothing more than white-boy bait: as the title suggests, it's an album-length riff on Seinfeld that incorporates snippets of dialogue from famous episodes and features an endearingly goofy "drop" by Julia Louis-Dreyfuss ("Don't you think my kids are gonna think I'm so cool that I'm on this mixtape? Mothafucka!!") But Wale's genuine love for the show rescues the venture from drowning in cheap irony. On The Mixtape About Nothing, Wale emerges fully-formed as a rapper and as a thinker, a lightning-witted, irreverent guy blessed with both an infectious swagger and a sound moral compass- twin gifts that enable him to accomplish some of the mixtape's most audacious feats. "I ain't a street nigga, but my niggas is some," he rhymes on "The End Credits", adding later, "I'm not a Muslim my grandmomma was one." He likens stylistic comparisons to Lil Wayne and Lupe Fiasco to being "locked in a box," lamenting, "We apples and oranges, but everybody pair us." The endless self-positioning might seem obsessive, but Wale instinctively understands that categorization means the death of a three-dimensional personality, and he is determined not to be easily dismissed. Throughout the tape, Wale displays an almost Road Runner-like ability to evade classification. "An iPod mind to you Walkman guys," he calls himself at one point, and the adeptness of the rhyme matches the neatness of the distinction. rapper Wale (pronounced Wah-LAY, as he carefully points out early on) is all too aware of these potential pitfalls, and on his expertly crafted, exuberantly witty, and endlessly surprising new Mixtape About Nothing, he makes an art out of high-stepping lightly through a minefield. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.In short, things just ain't the same for (non)gangstas, and any rapper who finds himself uncomfortable inventing a storied criminal past has learned to step carefully. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. WERTHEIMER: Wale is a big fan of Seinfeld, and it looks like they will be working together on his next album also - "The Album about Nothing." If you're a gambling man, you might get short odds on a track titled "What's the Deal with That?"Ĭopyright © 2013 NPR. WALE: Yeah, for the album that I got now. SEINFELD: Oh, this is the "Gifted" session? WALE: This is gifted, this is the "Gifted" session.
SEINFELD: Well, who is sure? Who, who is in charge of this? As it turned out, Jerry turned up a little earlier than expected. He appears at the very end of the song "Black Heroes" with an outro about nothing. WERTHEIMER: If that voice sounds like Jerry Seinfeld, that's because it is Jerry Seinfeld. SEINFELD: I thought we were doing the album today. JERRY SEINFELD: Yeah, I came in to do the album.
taking the number one spot from Kanye West's "Yeezus." But we think Wale's album is interesting for reasons other than just its success - namely this:
That's Washington, D.C.-based rapper Wale with a song from his latest album "The Gifted." The 28-year-old is riding high in the Billboard charts.
WALE: (Singing) Ain't been a black hero since Robert Townsend, so, Meteor Man, I hope you found something profound enough to expand on before the sound (unintelligible).
0 kommentar(er)
