It took me forever to recognize and open up to Wale’s music. I started a hater because he cancelled a performance at the D.C. Black Pride waaaaaay back in 2007. I didn’t JACK about the guy, how he was raised, political views, anything. To me, it was simple. Dude sold out because it was a gay pride event and he didn’t want to be associated with gay pride (It was BLACK. *shrugs*)
I slowly came around to Wale when he signed with Rick Ross’s Mayback Music Group, MMG. Nope, nothing about that move changed my views about his previous sell out but I couldn’t ignore that dude was jamming on every track I heard. When Imperfect Storm dropped in 2020 with 6 songs, I figured I would finally check it out. I am pleasantly surprised by the album. 6 songs is not enough to earn a true grade of A/B/C/D/F but for what it’s worth, all 6 are rocking. The intro, song #1, is an absolute banger and my third favorite joint of the album. From there, Wale does an impressive job of making me bop my head and “rewind” to catch the deep foreplay. Song #3, Blue Yellow Green Pink White, is a dance like jam. Between the wife and I, we cooked fish, cleaned up and ate ice cream with IT to start each activity. Songs #4 and #5 flirt between jamming and “deepness” as Sh*t Don’t Stop opens and closes with the chorus, “still here because somebody gotta pray for me.”
Is 6 songs worth much? Not enough. Yes, it is jamming but 6 with ONE longer than 3:03 is NOT enough.