Wale: Attention Deficit Review

Greetings,

Today I'll be reviewing the album Attention Deficit by rapper Wale. My relationship with rap is an interesting one. It was all I listened to in high school, before I really gave much thought to music. I was drawn to the beats, the raw force of the lyrics, and it was easily accessible on the radio. Once I graduated from high school and started playing guitar, I basically stopped listening to rap cold turkey for a few years and replaced it with rock. Finally, the light bulb went on in my head that I could be discerning in my musical taste and still enjoy plenty of rap and hip hop. Thus, this arduous journey has led me to... my first review of a rap album.

Attention Deficit is a good, not great album. The beats are very original, fusing a distinct old school rap influence and a more modern complexity, with a variety of horns and electronic sounds filling the songs. Wale's flow is very strong, while his lyrics are clever, funny, and on occasion very perceptive. A number of different artists cameo on the record, and fit well into the complexion of each song. The songs are a mix of upbeat dance tracks, introspective slower songs, and even Wale waxing poetic about personal and social issues. Many of the individual songs are excellent, with some of my favorites being Mirrors, 90210, Chillin, and TV in the Radio.

However, the songs stand better on their own then in the context of the album. The album starts off fast and upbeat for the first five or so songs. The songs themselves are all very good, but the tone and pace is too similar from track to track. At this point the songs slow down, with only a few more upbeat tracks, and the album hits a lull at the end. The sequence of the songs is a major concern, and the tempo of the album is choppy. After finishing the record I felt it was about three songs too long.

Overall, I enjoyed the album but did not love it. I was drawn more to the specific songs I liked then the record as a whole. This was Wale's first real album (he's released several mixtapes in the past), so his subsequent recordings could be a lot better without him tweaking his style much. In my opinion, he needs to be more conscientious of pace and song order if he wants to make a truly complete album.