Wale is set for his sophomore album “Ambition” with expectations at an all-time high for the up-and-coming MC.
The anticipation for a second CD are always down because it is hard to top a debut album. The CD kicks off with two very good songs: “Don’t Hold Your Applause” and “Double M Genius.”
It’s an interesting format because “Don’t Hold Your Applause” is more of a slower song to kick off the CD.
It’s an interesting choice because Wale’s flow is usually faster, but it does the job to get you into the CD. As for “Double M Genius,” his flow picks up quite a bit.
The one downfall of the first two songs is it seems the chorus could have used some work. Wale is one of the best musicians in the game when it comes to writing verses, but he has shown in the past that he could use improvement in writing a chorus.
One of the extrodinary things that you don’t usually see, especially with sophomore albums, is that the first five of six songs on the CD don’t have a feature on them.
This is more common with freshman debut albums because the artists are trying to show that they can shine on their own.
With a sophomore album, it is common to have more features on the CD because the artist is more comfortable with the space that is there.
Overall, about two-thirds of the CD is Wale solo, which is amazing because of all the features usually seen on rap CDs today.
The next two songs on the CD, “Miami Nights” and “Legendary,” are very good, but once again lack when it comes to the hook. “Miami Nights” is more of a party song.
It’s cool how Wale switches his style up from one song to the next on this CD.
A good example of that is he goes from an up-tempo song with “Miami Nights” to “Legendary,” which is a song about his life.
He talks about proving people wrong and even though he did not go to college, is still a success in life today. The song could have used better production, but because of the message, it is easily one of the best songs on the album.
As for the production on the CD, it could be better. A lot of the producers are unknown, but that is not really the problem.
It seems that on some of the songs the production is forced and his flow doesn’t always go with the beat, as well. It is definitely a step down from the production on his debut album “Attention Deficit.”
The features on this album really do stand out for the better. “Lotus Flower Bomb” was the first released single from the CD and it really is a well chosen single.
The chorus was done by an artist named Miguel, who has an excellent voice and fills in the missing piece for the hook that is missing so much when Wale is on his own in the CD.
The main song that did not stand out on the CD is “Chain Music,” a song that could have been successful, especially with how hot Rick Ross is right now. But once again the production got in the way from creating a successful song. Wale and Ross both sound out of place; this is a song you can skip on the CD. As for “Focused,” it is easily the best song on the CD for Wale verse-wise but the hook once again is the downfall of this song.
If you are looking for something new and different, Wale’s “Ambition” is a good choice.
Even though the CD really lacks in the hook area, Wale does stand out with his own verses and remains one of the hottest rappers in the game today.
