Academik

Wale is one of the best new hip-hop artists on the scene. Mastered by Nick Catchdubs, his mixtape “100 miles and running,” is a great way to start your weekend, your morning, or your workout.

I will admit that the first time I listened to the album I was nonplussed. The beats could have used a little work: the melodies needed more depth and layering. I had heard his flow and running commentary on pop culture, D.C. hype, and self-promotion all before. But I had jumped to conclusions.

After listening to this mixtape, in its entirety cranked up in my headphones, I got hooked. All the things that I wasn’t smitten with suddenly became idiosyncrasies that worked perfectly for the song. The extra time to let the songs marinate in my head really helped me appreciate it. This isn’t some pop album that you’ll fall in love with for a minute and then leave behind - like a good woman it grows on you, you can’t help but love her even more after the 15^th listen. That says something.

Wale is the next best thing in hip-hop, no exaggeration. You give this guy access to the same resources as Kanye and Jay-z and he will turn out some amazing tracks. He’s a simmered down intensified version of a lot of the artists in the pop hop world, but he’s got the reality check of most backpack rappers like Common and Kweli. He admits that his cars are pieces of junk, but he rocks fly sneakers. He has wit to spare, flipping off jokes like Ludacris, “My climate is way higher than Lindsey Lohan’s nostrils on powder”, Wale raps on WALEDANCE. He knowingly pokes fun at the lame aspects of hip-hop. It’s a nice change.

He ridicules the stupid excessive trends that have come on, but at the same time salvages the original core of some trends that were worthwhile. For example he rips on the frequent use of lil’ and young in artists names, as well as the excessive breathing that rappers throw on the breaks in tracks. The hyperventilating that is supposed to convince us that talking fast is the hardest thing they have ever done. Isn’t that their day job? He lacks pretension and really, Wale’s just having fun – and that’s what makes him so easy to love (he’s not a businessman or a business, man). Something that seems lost since the early days of hip-hop (De La, Tribe, Pharcyde…).

The mixtape samples current hits and turns their beats into simple infectious background for Wale’s flows - twisting them just enough to make you wonder why the original artists didn’t think of it first. A few examples: Lily Allen’s “Smile”, Justice’s DANCE, The Gorillaz’ “Dirty Harry”, and Amy Winehouse’s ubiquitous “Rehab”. The Gorillaz is one of my favorite tracks - intro’d by an unassuming simple commentary on the eternal conquest for a Grammy and local representation for DC. Out of nowhere the beat hits and your hips assume a life of their own. DC Gorillaz (produced by Best Kept Secret) moves then from a straightforward sample of the original beat, to a chopped and screwed version.

Smile is slimly affected in comparison, but it fulfills a completely different purpose. Wale turns Smile into a conversation between Lily Allen and himself about her schadenfreude, cheating antics, and his desire for a lil Lily lovin’. He makes this sugary pop lollipop lighthearted and listenable. His two-person dialogue gives the story a more theatrical quality. Meanwhile most of his peers don’t seem like they have even listened to what the song is about when adding to a pop track, i.e. T.I. on “My Love”. Wale is paying attention to the subtleties of the pop realm, not putting down the genre.

You can feel this admiration for his reworking of pop hits because every website that recommends 100 Miles and Running provides a different sample song. No one agrees on just one hit from the album because too many of the songs stand out. Some of my favorites are tracks DC Gorillaz(2), ,Breakdown(3), Ice Cream Girl(4), WALEDANCE(12),Good Girls(13), Work(14), Smile(16), and Rehab(19).

Conclusion: If you are driving a car this summer, or going to a party, or working out, or just working, or trying to wake up, or trying not to go to sleep then you should have this mixtape – it’s free! It will liven up your life, make your friends appreciate you more, give you better luck with the opposite sex, and create envy for your vibe. Get this album before your friends do. Get on the front of this wave; it’s going to be huge. It’ll Wale on the nation.
- Quinn