As I said in my last article, I was looking forward to Wale’s debut release on Maybach Music Group, Ambition. I’ve followed Wale sparingly since 2009 when I got into his Seinfeld-inspired mixtape, The Mixtape About Nothing and subsequently picked up his solo album debut Attention: Deficit. I loved Attention Deficit for its depth and eclectic collection of features, styles, and messages. Since then though, Wale has struggled to get a solid grip in the mainstream market.
In the two years since his debut album’s release, Wale hit the mixtape circuit and managed to get picked up by Rick Ross’s Label, Maybach Music Group. Considering Wale built his fan base and reputation on clever lyricism and an underground feel, it was a somewhat of a shock that Wale and Rick Ross, the mafioso mainstream master, would come together. The move had many thinking, including myself, that this would either get Wale the deserved mainstream attention he has been seeking or that Rick Ross and the powers over at MMG would begin to meddle with Wale’s craft.
The latter seems to have happened with Ambition.
As I make my way through the album, I find myself reminded of the whole Lupe Fiasco Lasers, for lack of a better word, fiasco. For those unfamiliar with the situation, Lupe was constantly going back and forth with label reps over which songs to put on his Lasers project. They forced him to include catchier, radio-friendly songs and drop some of his more conscious, lyrical content. What happened was a slight disappointment for the die-hard Lupe fan and an improper mainstream representation of Lupe.
Lupe himself spoke out against the whole thing in a Complex Magazine interview saying, “One thing I try to stress about this project is, I love and hate this album. I listen to it and I’ll like some of the songs. But when I think about what it took to actually get the record together…. I hate this album.”
This kind of stuff happens to hip hop artists all the time, but rarely does it happen to an outspoken individual like Lupe who will actually bring awareness to it. Tangent aside, this record is so removed from what Wale has been releasing, that it seems that MMG had it hands heavily meddling in the creative process of Ambition.
For me, the production on this album goes way past the line of over production. There are way too many synths and ambient sounds. Someone must have left Rick Ross in the studio with a keyboard because just about every single track has that annoying atmosphere build sound in it; that sound right before the DJ drops the bass and the rolling zombie congregation loses control. Now while this may create an excellent electro feel, this does not provide much for the hip hop head. The beats are club inspired and, most likely, constructed to be forced into the venues lining Ocean Drive on South Beach.
Some of them do stay true to the go-go style of Washington D.C., which Wale has often said has influenced his music. However, this record seems to fall into line with the electro/house/techno fad that American Pop Music is fawning over. It doesn’t help that you can almost imagine Rick Ross’s “bark” on every single track, once again pointing to the influences of this album.
Lyrically, this isn't Wale’s best attempt either. Wale must be going through some kind of girl troubles because there are only about 6/7 songs, out of 15, that don't talk about women. I was not aware Wale was making an attempt at an R&B career, but his continuous stream of love songs on Ambition is a headache. The fact that he features Ne-Yo, Lloyd, Jeremih, and Miguel on separate songs is just mind-boggling. Those four guys are basically the same person, so who really needs to use all three of them on three separate tracks.
Other than talking about women, Wale doesn’t really get around to covering other subjects. He spends some time condemning the braggadocio in the industry, before completely falling in line with this for the rest of the album, and he also covers his struggles trying to make it in the industry. He pays homage to his hometown while examining it’s less than appealing characteristics in what is quite possibly the best track on the album, “DC or Nothing.” Other than that, Wale spends time talking up women and himself. There aren’t really too many tracks, for me, worth declaring as must listens. My favorites, and I use that word loosely, are “Chain Music”, “DC or Nothing”, “Legendary”, and “Ambition” where Meek Mill makes a solid appearance.
Overall, this album failed to live up to the hopes I had for it. Once again, a major, money-hungry label has taken a genuine artist and tried to force them into their mold. For the Wale fans out there, stick to the mixtapes and hold out on buying this album. However, if you’re looking for solid background music while busting a move on your heartthrob, this album may not be a bad choice.
In any case the keyword here is “torrent” if you really need this piece of music. When it comes to hip-hop and the reputation Wale has built for himself in the past, this album is a flop. I give it a D, and that’s only because I can’t find it in my heart to fail Wale.
