Wale – Attention: Deficit
Allido/Interscope Records

“D.C. Ain’t Just About Go-Go.”

For Olubowale Folarin, Attention: Deficit was a long time coming. Many of times you hear about rappers carrying their entire cities on their back because they are given the ball first and folks believe that all rappers from one area are the same.

In Washington D.C., that isn’t the case at all. D.C. is known purely for its go-go music and share of R&B talent. Wale on the other hand, is one of the more versatile members of 2008’s XXL Freshmen class and after Kid Cudi dropped his debut, it was Mr. Folarin’s turn. What followed was a blitzkrieg of high profile spots from The Roots “Rising Down” to grabbing Lil’ Wayne for a “Nike Boots” remix on The Mixtape About Nothing and building his buzz even stronger. All of which culminated with the kid getting tabbed as the house band for the infamous 2009 Video Music Awards, all of this without a debut album to his name. After numerous push backs, Attention: Deficit finally arrived and if anything – proves that Wale should be someone that will stay in the average hip hop fan’s eyes for a long time to come.

Since Wale has the entire sound of a city to uphold, it’s only fitting he blends modern go-go with easy boom bap. On the lead single “Chillin”, Wale recruits the 21^st century Madonna in Lady Gaga for hook duty and conquers the Cool & Dre beat with the command of a season vet, “This is how you start off 09/Kickin’ in the door like I’m everybody problem”. Ever since the rise of Kanye in 2004, hip hop fans have relished in those “everyman” rappers who string together words of encouragement, tales of disdain and reality and not to mention a little bit of flair for the name brand. Thankfully, after hearing Folarin spit a like about a pair of Nike’s even Phil Knight couldn’t get – you get the picture of him falling right in line with that category.

He sidesteps the usual pitfalls of first time releases by spreading himself all over the disc, relating to topics of suicide in “Contemplate” which even gives way to a Chris Benoit reference & the plight dark skinned black men deal with when it comes to picking women off of the color wheel on “Shades”. The creativity expands even further on “90210” with our champion of D.C. spinning a tale about a girl who is so caught up in her Hollywood lifestyle that she won’t ever give it up. He keeps the black girl lost mantra and amplifies it on “Diary” in which he pens a letter to a woman who is scared to even try to love.

In picking guest artists, Wale comes through in spades with quality. Gucci Mane drops another eye-opening verse aimed towards the ladies on “Pretty Girls”, its production infectious with a bouncy beat and go-go break and Wale eats it up. However when placed up against a fellow elite rhyme slayer in J. Cole, the latter comes through with some serious heat. On “Beautiful Bliss”, the Fayetteville native keeps the fire he set on “A Star Is Born” and rips into the track as if he had to fight for his young life. “All I wanna do is eat/I’m like a freaky lesbian…Nas said life’s a bitch/Pac said fuck the world but I ain’t cum yet”. H-Town veteran Bun B assists Folarin on “Mirrors”, taking the nursery rhyme for a chorus but analyzing who exactly is to hate who when taking a glimpse at yourself.

For a debut album, Wale stacks the deck against his fellow contemporaries for utilizing his witty flow and subject matter to craft quite the interesting dish fit for consumption. Many will see the numerous guest stars in terms of just getting a reach and hoping that the D.C. native gets some crossover appeal but if anything, Wale proves that on his own merits he should shine regardless.

Standouts: Triumph, Mama Told Me, Pretty Girls, Shades, 90210, Let It Loose, Contemplate, Diary, Beautiful Bliss, Chillin,

Duds: None

Final Score: 8.6

Brando

EIC of Day & A Dream, Brando has written for such publications as DJ Booth, Refined Hype & the Houston Press. Wrestling enthusiast, sneaker addict, sports junkie and certified cake eater. Follow him on Twitter: @_brandoc

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