The Gifted
Wale cuts a lone figure on his third long-player. The only features here come from a few R&B vocalists who match the production\'s soulful bent: Tiara Thomas assists on the melancholic, acoustic guitar–infused \"Bad,\" while the lead single \"LoveHate Thing\" fuses a slinky Marvin Gaye sample with Sam Dew\'s trilling on the hook.
Wale's third official album is his most sonically daring yet, pushing a classic soul and gospel sound inspired by the likes of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. What he doesn't have, however, is their knack for writing lyrics to rattle anyone's whole worldview.
Even during Wale’s brighter days, The Gifted would have been a stretch for a Wale album title. The Sufficient? Sure. The Better Than Average? Possibly. The Fortunate? Definitely. But Gifted? That’s the last word anybody would use to describe a rapper who, since Rick Ross tossed him the Maybach keys in 2011, has…
While his first two efforts were smart, clever, funny, and infectious, rapper Wale was never one known to offer rich insight, but on the opening number of the aptly titled The Gifted, he spits "The status got me trippin'/I like my bitch but I like these bitches on my dick be spittin'/Tell that you feelin' different, knowin' you the bread winner," and suddenly the hook of this great album reveals itself.
Long-time fans kissed off any chance of really seeing Mixtape About Nothing-era Wale again when they largely ignored his major label debut, and that stinging early rejection has continued to inform this sizable chunk of Wale's bills-paying lyricism, not dedicated to sneakers, women and blunts, ever since.