Wale: Back to the Figures

Wading through the dredges of mix tape culture reveals a great deal about the industry and what individual performers actually want outta all of this. For some, it becomes plainly clear that a chance at the big time only to gain those physical trappings of life is the aim. And while Wale (Olubowale Victor Akintimehin) might want a bit of fame and some of those possessions, a listen to his latest mix tape, Back to the Feature, is a basic statement of substance over matter. It comes through on every beat – a great deal proffered by 9^th Wonder – and every rhyme. Even the collaborations, which Wale figures to be the basis of this tape - or as he puts it “This is just rappers rapping together” - seem to be better thought out, arranged and executed than on some other recently released tapes.

Coming from Washington D.C., some, including the emcee himself believe that his locale is part of the reason for his success being waylaid. It’s been figured that New York or Los Angeles are the musical hubs of not just the country, but the world. It’d be difficult to argue, but with a sizable body of work behind him, it seems that Wale is more than prepared to give the big time a go. Entering the mix tape race with 2005’s Paint a Picture – which I won’t pretend to have even seen – he soon followed with several others, including last year’s homage to Seinfeld.

This last project may have worked to further pigeon hole Wale into the stoner, back packer segment of the game. But of course, he decries the media’s proclivity to peg him. Although he’s more than willing to concede the fact that political concerns are frequently on his mind, Wale also says, “there’s a side of me that thinks about girls 24/7.” It might not always come across in his raps, but he’s a normal dude, even if his international travelling, of late, has perhaps pushed back a proper release again. After Back to the Feature, which should meet everyone’s expectations, his full length, which is set to come through Allido Records, should be expected towards the end of ’09. We’re waiting.

But what we have in front of us now is over an hour of music that, while sporting pretty consistent production from 9^th Wonder and Mark Ronson amongst others, is able to properly use its guest spots in a manner that enables Wale to seamlessly move in and out of other’s verses.

The Jean Grae feature, which is a bit reminiscent of the DOOM track from Vaudeville Villain covering a similar territory, comes off as a well told story while not catering to any specific sub-click of the genre. And of course, the non stop flow from JG doesn’t hurt too much. Even Warren G. comes through with a stunner, contributing a beat for “Rhyme and Reason,” where Wale says “A little more Talib/A little less Jay-Z.” And in that one line Wale is able to not only sum up this mix tape, but his career thus far.