His flow on “Lovehate Thing” is fast-paced, in contrast to the luscious overall beat. The variety within Wale’s sound is addicting, to the point where his releases have a considerable amount of replay value, which is particularly the case with some efforts on The Gift, even if there are some clunkers as well.Īnother highlight, “Lovehate Thing” retreats to smoother territory, with smooth R&B claps and smooth vocal stylings courtesy of Sam Dew showing Wale’s new willingness to embrace smoother elements of hip-hop the gangster elements of his past releases are more reserved, targeted now toward a new embracing of pop music that is still daring enough to support Wale’s idiosyncrasies. This is in addition to tracks completely out of left field, like the percussive-heavy, cinematic-savvy “Rotation”. He can unleash furious hip-hop efforts like “The Curse of the Gifted” and “Heaven’s Afternoon”, and slot them alongside sensual movers like “Bad”. By the time the album closes with the sensual acoustic-glided closer “Bad”, which features the soulful vocals of Tiara Thomas, we are reminded exactly why Wale’s previous album, Ambition, charted at #1 on the Billboard hip-hop charts in late 2011. The bookends of The Gifted are particularly impressive, and starting with “The Curse of the Gifted” that becomes clear. Opener “The Curse of the Gifted” implements stark piano trickles, psychedelic guitar scratches, and a climatic sci-fi ambiance to guide Wale’s personable flow his voice is hardly a distinctive presence tonally, but the delivery is melodic and nonchalant enough to engross listeners, somewhere between the stoned nonchalance of Snoop and the youthful brashness of J Cole. While this can make for a scattered approach in some respects, The Gifted succeeds in most fronts as a step forward for the talented D.C.-based rapper, whose success should continue to grow this year with this eclectic release. One track can resemble a summer breeze in its R&B-studded smoothness, while the next can resemble a cavernous experiment in atmospheric dub.
Regardless, the rapper shows a bold approach on The Gifted, which features a number of moments with shocking stylistic risk. It’s his most stylistically virtuous yet, even if it becomes sporadically over-dependent on superfluous cameos from everyone ranging from Nicki Minaj to Jerry Seinfeld. Despite some hiccups along the way, Wale shows a new-found maturity on The Gifted, his third album.
0 kommentar(er)
