2 of 25: Wale - The Mixtape About Nothing

On its surface, the premise sounds ridiculous: unsigned (but well-established) D.C. rapper creates mixtape based on Seinfeld. But any doubts about the quality or direction of the album are quelled in "The Opening Title Sequence," where Wale spells out exactly what this mixtape is about ("most rappers love nothin', so I made this tape") while waxing poetic about "ringtone rappers," music sales/leaks in the era of piracy, and the credit crisis. All over a beat using the theme music from that television show about... nothing.

Being a mixtape, there are some fillers that probably wouldn't make the cut on a true album, but really... it's pretty lean. You won't find a lot of tracks that don't offer either great beats, great hooks, or incredible lyrics, and most often it's a combo of all three. Wale offers up a ton of highlights throughout this mixtape: from Julia Louis-Dreyfus making a guest drop at the end of "The Vacation From Ourselves," to besting Jay-Z on his own "Roc Boys" hook, to breaking down an entire verse of the fast-paced "The Chicago Falcon Remix," to an unending stream of one-liners that rival anything you'll hear on the radio or otherwise (ex. "good rappers ain't eatin', they Olsen Twinnin' it").

But if you listen to just ONE THING from this album, please make it "The Kramer." Starting with the infamous Michael Richards racial epithet-outburst at a comedy club a few years ago, Wale dissects the implications of using the words "nigga" and "bitch" in rap lyrics over a "Jesus Walks"-eque beat. By this point, we realize that The Mixtape About Nothing is really a mixtape about a lot of things... relationships, race, the economy, sports, getting drunk/high, go-go music (well, you get the point). Maybe its a coincidence that Wale chose Seinfeld, which doesn't feature a major African American character, as the "inspiration" for his mixtape. But I doubt it.

Link: http://www.10deep.com/WALEMIXTAPE/

PS. If you want to get to the other albums, you have to email me or Audra to get the link. Don't miss out!!