Ambition: an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment. Motivated people are characterized by their strong desire for accomplishment or power. Olubowale Victor Akintimehin Folarin, better known as Wale looks to the sky on the illustrated cover of his much anticipated sophomore album worthy entitled “Ambition” is set to drop on November 1, 2011. However, does striving to be number one on a new label provide success with Wale’s new album?Feelings of being artistically stifled under with Interscope Records forced Wale to part ways with the label and eventually found a new home with Ricky Rozay’s Maybach Music Group. Although this may have raised a few eyebrows, the union seems to be a perfect fit.
As a new addition to Maybach Music Group, many fans may have their reservations about how this album will play out in Wale’s ever-thriving hip hop career. Still Wale demands fans attention with over confident tracks like “Don’t Hold Your Applause,” “Focused,” and “Double M Genius” sounding more like typical Wale. However, it is clear that his sound as changed, working for and against him. So while the “old” Wale is still visible on his new album Ambition, you’ve got to sift through a lot of sex and expensive watches to get there. The question is, is that such a bad thing?
Time and time again Wale is acknowledged for his fusion of DC’s homegrown go-go and street sense hip-hop. He often takes samples from all genres to blend them together while adding clever lyrical content. Surprisingly, this skill is only evident in “Bait.” Remembering a time when Go-Go influenced and served fans well on every Wale song and project? This is nowhere to be found here. Slick wordplay and high-energy tracks still continue to set him apart from other rappers. However, well-produced tracks typically associated with the Maybach Music brand were almost nonexistent on this project.
Unlike his previous album, which featured mostly female singers, male R&B favorites are the featured guests on Ambition, including Ne-Yo, Lloyd, Miguel and Jeremih. Although Wale has built a reputation as a humorous rapper delivering quick punch lines, Wale’s signature rhymes on each slow-tempo ballad gives a spoken word feel, catering more to the ladies. They’re smooth jams that illustrates Wale’s more focused marketing plan: women buy music from men who make them feel wanted and promise to take them away from their bland reality, even if only three mere minutes.
Overall, Ambition is an inconsistent album. Individually, these tracks are all a pretty good listen, but the album flow begins to blend together instead of impress. This is why there may be a love for any track on the first listen, but might forget about it when you play it a second time. Yes, Ambition is a pretty decent album but it just doesn’t stick out the way his slew of mixtapes deliver. Wale seems to be focused, but Wale fans look for more substance and brilliant beats on his projects. The mood of Ambition currently reflects its title and author. On the title track, he raps, “They gon’ love me for my ambition/ Easy to dream a dream, though it’s harder to live it.”
Here is a preview to the album:
No comments:
Post a Comment