Wale
Attention Deficit

Campus Correspondent CD Review By Marion Olea,
North Central College

After years of releasing mixtapes, hip-hop artist Wale makes his album debut with Attention Deficit (Interscope). A combination of music samplings from other artists and numerous guest appearances – two of which include Lady Gaga and Pharrell – Attention Deficit establishes who Wale is as an artist and what he hopes to achieve. Whether he successfully achieves it, though, is a different story.

“Mirrors” is the song that sets up Attention Deficit and will determine where one likes the album or not. The song is extremely catchy, well-written, and one of the better songs of the album. However, in it he speaks of rappers being fake with their gimmicky lyrics, but as the album progresses, he is guilty of doing the exact same thing. Wale’s love of women begins to show in the lyrically unimpressive, “Pretty Girls.” The song’s too bland and contains a weak chorus. “Chillin,” featuring Lady Gaga, is completely different from everything else off Attention Deficit. The song seems too bubblegum pop for Wale and his excessive name-dropping overshadowed the song completely. Similarly, “TV in the Radio” is abundantly filled with pop culture references that distract listeners from the songs lyrical content.

His fascination of women once again appears in “90210.” The song has a strong beat and captivating lyrics of a cocaine addicted female trying to make it big in Hollywood. The best song on Attention Deficit has to be “Contemplate,” which beautifully samples Rihanna’s “Question Existing.” The song, which discusses the complications of love and moving on, is amazingly written and relatable in nearly every aspect. If more of his songs contained the same rawness of this song then he would have a masterpiece on his hand.

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