But it feels like an exercise in avoidance as if Wale took the advice to ease up too far. A strange hook on “Thank God” is preoccupied with his enemies, despite the fact that he’s never had a longstanding public beef with any relevant rapper. His flow remains flexible but he’s fixated on the subjects that have long obsessed him: success, wealth, and the haters who are blocking his path to success and wealth. Still, there are hints-beyond that “doth protest too much” acronym-that Wale can’t help but relive the past. “Scarface, Rozay Gotti,” a surprisingly tender tribute to some of Wale’s rap heroes, induces a smile as the rapper sings drunkenly, then launches into deft, empty raps about courtside seats at a Wizards game. Occasionally, on tracks where he’s more present, the mood lures the listener in, as on “Thank God,” an opener meant to sell the idea that Wale is through with pettiness he uses the orchestral Cool & Dre beat to coo at his daughter, announcing “that feminist side come out when Zyla there” and turning the hook over to the R&B singer Rotimi. On these songs, and many others, Wale is there but not there, his lyrics contractually obligated, though every so often he finds time to drop a regrettable line, like “she penetrating my mind, I penetrate that physique,” on the single “PYT.” But “Fine Girl” stumbles around blindly, wasting features from the Nigerian artists Olamide and Davido. The former, which features Major Lazer, Dua Lipa and Wizkid and on which Wale doesn’t rap until nearly two minutes in, is pleasant enough to wiggle into a spot on a backyard party playlist. “My Love” and “Fine Girl” chase the Caribbean muse that Drake has exploited so successfully. neighborhood and features the reggaeton superstar J Balvin, whose presence livens up a meandering track. The Don Cannon-produced “Colombia Heights (Te Llamo)” refers to the largely-Hispanic D.C. The album hopscotches its way through a varied set of production styles, with Wale performing his usual acrobatic routine through hoops positioned by marketers and focus groups. There’s not a song here that feels grounded in much more than the desire to enjoy the moment or at least feign doing so well enough to make radio playlists. “And I’m just like, ‘Wale, man, just be happier.’”Īccordingly, Shine is a more buoyant album than his back-to-basics 2015 offering, The Album About Nothing.

“I put myself through a lot of doom and gloom,” he said. (The album’s title is an acronym: “ Still here ignoring negative energy.”) In an interview with Complex, he said he wanted to put less pressure on himself.

Wale has promoted the new project as a record overflowing with contentment, thanks in part to a newborn daughter, Zyla. Five studio albums, and one mid-career reinvention later, we arrive at Shine, the rapper’s fourth full-length with MMG.

Wale the album about nothing soundcloud