CD review | Wale's 'Attention Deficit'

Wale, 'Attention Deficit'

(Allido/Interscope)

Five masterful mixtapes in the last three years made Wale (that's "Wah-lay," born Olubowale Victor Folarin) one of 2009's most anticipated freshmen MCs. And here's his major-label debut, "Attention Deficit," trading his strengths for would-be pop appeal.

The 25-year-old Washington, D.C., native had from the start tapped the carnal rhythms of go-go — an undersung, D.C.-bred style of hard funk — which is nowhere to be found here. Instead star-making producers like Mark Ronson and Cool and Dre churn out cookie-cutter beats and Lady Ga Ga does her best MIA. The Neptunes drop a distinctly Neptunes-y beat on "Let it Loose" that Wale kills, but the greatest thrills come with Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio behind the boards: "Triumph" and "TV in the Radio," featuring Somali rapper K'naan, surge over monumental Afrobeat breaks and horns. The latter is reminiscent of Mos Def and Talib Kweli's "Black Star," the kind of original statement hip-hop could use more of in '09.

Jonathan Zwickel, Special to The Seattle Times

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