Wale: Ambition

Wale’s 2009 debut, Attention Deficit, wasn’t just a flop. It was a potential career-killer, selling a paltry 28,000 copies in its first week—a number that, given the hype and hopes around the rapper at the time, would have been disappointing for a small independent release, let alone a labored Mark Ronson production with a Lady Gaga feature for a lead single. Wale’s second chance came earlier this year in unexpected form: Rick Ross, who saw potential in the humbled D.C. rapper, and signed him to Ross’ flourishing Maybach Music Group. With its Ross-sized boasts of fast cars, big chains, and loose women, Wale’s resulting sophomore effort, Ambition, is such a complete reboot that some rappers might have opted for a name change before releasing it. Yet it isn’t a total stretch for a chameleon like Wale, who has already reinvented himself several times over his short career, scampering from the club-ready go-go of his hometown to conscious mix-tape rap, and then to Attention Deficit’s attempted crossover rap. Ambition is just his latest pop grab, and in many respects, it’s more realized than his last one.