Prologue: I have an enormous amount of respect for those who claim the DMV as their home. I realize that certain aspects of this article may inspire the hords of the DC faithful to try to hang me with a noose of SB laces but trust and believe that I only write what I feel and my opinion really means nothing at the end of the day. DMV folks, I still love you.
So let’s put this out there right off of the bat ok? I was never a big Wale guy. I have some friends who would rather listen to Benzino freestyle for three hours than download a Wale song, and I have some friends who swear up and down that Wale is the truth.
Despite not being a big fan, I’ve been well aware of this fellow’s track record over the past two years as he was being heralded as the MC that would put the DMV on the map. Fast-forward now to November 10th, 2009 and Wale is putting out his first major label debut Attention Deficit. An album that I could not escape like Snuggie commercials on late night TV. This body of music has not only been hyped from here to the mother land and back again, but it has received the biggest promotional push I’ve seen in years for any artist’s first album.
With those being the facts, I figure what the hell. Let me uphold my duty as a law breaking citizen of the 21st century and download this album and give it a fair chance. I would give the guy who’s name no-one-could-pronounce-at-first a shot at proving that he lived up to the hype I had endured hearing for the past two months. Well, what follows is my reaction. And in case you’e somewhat sesitive, I’ll warn you now that I’m not rushing out to purchase any “Nike boots” in which to do a W.A.L.E. D.A.N.C.E.
My very first impression? They really, really, really tried to sell this album. Take a look at the roll call of artists present on nine out of fourteen total tracks. Literally everyone from arguable legends like Pharrell and Bun B to heavy radio hitters like Gucci and Rihanna. (That’s not to mention fellow up and comers Chrisette Michelle, J.Cole or Marsha Ambrose.) They jam packed this disc with more collaborations than Nike SB had in 2007 and yet somehow I’m not convinced.
Follow me on this one. If Wale is the man who is going to not only put the DMV on the map, but also be one of the biggest forces in helping to usher in a new school of rappers…you’d think he would absolutely impress me on at least a few songs on his album right? I mean with some sort of lyrical mastery that would absolutely shatter my ear drums and lead me to hug the nearest dollar bills and coints next to me because they are as close to Washington D.C. as I can get right?
Where was that on the album? Since the very first day that I hear a Wale track, probably somewhere around two years ago. I have never been blown away by his skills on the microphone. There is something lacking to me, maybe it’s his voice, maybe it’s that he was so closely tied to a sneaker culture I was exiting at the time he came out or maybe it’s just plain and simple the fact that as a rapper he is just good at best.
Take a serious look at it. When I think of the other up and coming rappers in the game-I’m talking about a Drake, J.Cole, Pac Div, Blu, hell even throw Cudi in there. They have all at least once succeeded in make me stop, nod my head and go, “Damn, yeah he deserves the hype. That was ridiculous.”
I am not getting this from Wale.
The album has production of epic proportions. “Let It Loose” had the potential to be so over played that it would be annoying despite the genius hook from Razor Scooter/Skateboard/Roller Blade P or whatever we’re calling Pharrell today. But as soon as Wale got into his first verse… I literally tuned the song out. As soon as the hook came back? I was back into it, but Wale succeeded once again in losing me over the course of his verses.
There’s some light on the album. Prescription has some amazing production and some verses from Wale that are highly listen-to-able but again not stunning. The man has talent and I respect the degree to which he’s promoted himself and succeeded to date but to all my brethren out there calling out his name in adulation. Is this really the savior of the DMV? The fore bearer of the new movement? He’s cool guys…. I suppose but I don’t feel like this is the best out there. I think there needs to be some competition, maybe from the DMV, maybe from somewhere else but this can’t really be it?
From the amount of hype so many of you guys gave him, the absurd supporting cast assembled around Wale to make the album a success and the largely genius production throughout Wale still failed to make me a believer.
No par intended for those who are a fan of the man, all the more power to you. I even took it easy on him in this article. There’s a lot of things that could have been brought to light here but I feel like it’s counter productive to really shape any one’s thoughts who may be reading this and accepting it as truth without listening for themselves.
The essential problem is this.
I just feel as though maybe Wale was raised onto a platform to be a savior and star and perhaps maybe we all moved a little fast in choosing him to be the artist standing on that platform. Hell, I’m not even sure Wale wants to be on that platform.
At some point I think there needed to be a step back and analyzing of this man’s skill and ability to ‘wow’ on a track before we all cosigned his proclamation as rap’s “prescription” in his own words. That goes for everyone from the DMV to L.A. and in between. Best of luck to the artist on future releases. I’ll be listening, and should he inspire, paying for the music as well.
<3 Es’Q
Filed under: People, Photography | Tags: Models, hottie of the week, Model Mayhem
Name:Desiree (Honey) Gomez
Location:Venice,CA
Measurements:24 26 23 34c size 8
Zodiac Sign:Taurus
Ethnicity: Mexican;puerto rican;white;indian;german
Where I’ve Lived:Everywhere in LA and Escondido
Where I’ve Visited:Mexico and Las Vegas
My Dream Destinations:New york
Favorite Shoes:Stillettos
Other Shoes I Rock With:Chuck Tayors
What Clothing Brands I Mostly Wear:Forever21
Stores I Shop At:Forever21
My Favorite Accessory:my peircings..all 11 of them:D
Paint a picture of your ideal outfit:white beater jeans and fuzzy socks
A Magazine I Always Get:US
A Book To Read:Coldest Winter ever/Midnight
Favorite Author:at the moment Sista Soulja
Favorite Restaurant:Dont have a favorite
Music Artists:Music is life–cant name 1
Albums I Keep Close:Jamie Fox;Hope;Amanda Perez
Foods I Can’t Turn Down:Noodles
Movies I Love:Comedy
The 1st Thing I Check In A Person:Smile
Things That Turn Me Off Instantly:no humor
Physical Attractions:Body
Who Pays For The 1st Date:Usually people “HiM” but i honestly think it should be an even share..him dinner..me desert 
A Dating Place I Dislike:Movies
Ways To Annoy Me:pay me no attention
Summary Of My Craziest Date: went to redondo beach and bar hopped. Went to go do karaoke, then some how jumped in a fountain with all my cloths on
She/He’s Got It Good When I: Consistantly get butterflys
Odd Things About Me: Im random; i love fountains; i have a phobia of snails
What do you think about The Dopetorialist?? i love Schnookems Bobbit
Enjoy <3 Es’Q
Modelmayhem.com/1183659
Mz.. Honey Gomez
One of my favorite groups of all time Bronx raised Camp-Lo’s psychedelic cool rhyming scheme always stood out amongst other hip-hop duo’s in the industry. I remember my dad listening to their debut album ‘Uptown Saturday Night’ which was mostly produced by Ski who also did most of Jay-Z’s reasonable doubt album. The fact that they’re from the Bronx inspired me greatly knowing that their sound was completely different from what was considered mainstream rap at the time where Gangsta rap reigned supreme.
Funk , Jazz and hard hitting hip hop drum snares ideally attracted me to this duo with my own love for musical instruments. Music is a amazing thing in it’s ability to bring you back to a specific moment. I like to just throw on my headphones and just reminiscence a little bit.
<3 Es’Q
Pretty soon, Im going to start a segment, where I will post one or two of my outfits from that week. And I will do my best to explain Why I wore what I wore… If that makes sense… (I see you smirking)
When you really give it some thought, we choose things based on moods, influences, and of course the obvious variables such as weather, Etc…
Each morning we establish an image and an identity for ourselves through the simple act of getting dressed. Some of us are more practical, others (like me) use clothing to illustrate their identity, and stand out from the crowd… ,’is this shirt really me?’ or ‘does this jacket match?’… I think ee should all share thoughts about constraints we are all consciously or unconsciously negotiating when we get dressed.
Lets do it here! <3 Es’Q
Our brothers across the pond has always sparked some interest in me when it came to style and fashion. Let’s be perfectly honest here… we Americans love to borrow from the British, if it isn’t style and fashion then it’s music. There will always be some sort of connection with both nations since we both relay off the same influences. I may not have a platter of tea and crumpets on a nice Monday morning like today, but the overall British street look style inspires tremendously. When I think of British style the words Skinny, Mod , Skinhead and many others pop into my brain.
What kid doesn’t want to look flash , and like they have more money than they have ? or show off ?
A new consumer driven society was born. The fashionable age of being between thirty and forty at the start of 1950 was soon knocked off its pedestal before the end of the decade, by the arrival of the teenage cult with its own development of style and spending. Until then, 18 year old girls often dressed and made themselves up to look as old as their mothers. - Pauline Weston
To me the most admirable aspect of this was that the young people we’re at the forefront of this movement. Similar to what was going on state side even when you look back at street wear’s prominent time line you see young individuals such as myself and thousands around the country pushing the envelope.
The raw materials of Scottish tweeds and English worsted suit materials were renowned as being of exceptional quality. The wools were also used by the French and the British did everything they could to promote the fine materials with fine designs. – Jane Lasil
This is a six part documentary I found on a UK site , and I felt obligated to post it on here for everyone to see. There are so many similarities to what is going on today especially with Street Etiquette and everyone alike. We’re a flashy, show it out there , look what I got , materialistic culture. There’s a similar connection to the British street style and the urban communities around the nation here where people feel they need to have the Gucci , LV , Coach , Burberry and other luxurious brands. It’s interesting because it applies to different niches around not just the ones seeking the luxurious.
<3 Es’Q
Japan’s so-called hottest brand Neighborhood got me thinking while visiting their flagship store in San Diego. What I found made me feel really uncomfortable: swastika-festooned (aka “Hakenkreuz”) knives, a real-life size porcelain head of Adolf Hitler, SS signs (SS = “Schutzstaffel”, Hitler’s executing army during World War 2) integrated into their collection etc. Too bad that I obviously wasn’t allowed to take any pictures. I’ve never experienced such a feeling before when entering a store willing to buy something. All of a sudden, I did not only feel uncomfortable, but somehow felt offended.
Maybe it’s because I’m not European, but I think Europeans in general were brought up with a whole different comprehension of what happened in the past during WW2. We were taught in school how horrible this period was. Over here, in the US, it definitely is DISGUSTING to display and glorify Nazi signs like that and I’m very thankful for that. Let’s not forget that an estimated 6 million Jewish were killed during WW2 and another estimated 50 million people lost their lives and there’s definitely no reason to “celebrate” this dark period in history.
It’s another thing to be inspired and fascinated by the designs of the SS uniforms, we have seen that in many other collections before, but why using swastikas? Why glorifying Adolf Hitler as a person? Why using typical Nazi signs that are strongly affiliated to WW2? Doesn’t make any sense to me.
I’m pretty sure that Japanese people must not have the same education, perception and feeling about the Nazi era as we have here in the West, so I could understand the obsession with Nazi symbols. However, I assume that Mr. Shinsuke Takizawa & Mr. Tetsu Nishiyama have had a proper education and know what WW2 was all about and how horrible and terrifying the things were that happened during that time. Therefore, they should have a certain responsibility to their customers, because what I experienced at the 15th anniversary Neighborhood party, were young Japanese kids following the Neighborhood’s Nazi hype without any understanding what they are doing or wearing.
That night I found this kid:
On the back of the shirt it said:
1937 – Denmark
1938 – France
1939 – Poland
etc.
After asking him what he’s wearing there and if he knows what the Nazi era was all about, he couldn’t really say anything and just kept apologizing and said that it is a fashion trend in Tokyo.
I think as a designer/brand owner you have a certain responsibility to what you produce and put out there in the market. Of course, maybe the whole collection is just for the Japanese market and not for us Americans, or Europeans, but still messing around with such a sensitive subject has nothing to do any more with provoking other people, but is plain dumb and brainless.
I say: THIS IS NOT OK.
Again, this is only my personal opinion. Would love to hear and learn what others say about this topic…
<3 Es’Q
