Gifted Rapper Wale’s “The Gifted” Album Gifted To Us Early (Stream) Posted by Lucas Garrison on 06/18/13 | Filed under Wale, Streams

Finally, after months and months of talking, the 18th is finally here! In addition to Cole and Mac and Kanye and Statik, you now have to listen to Wale. The ambassador of the capital is throwing his hat in the ring too…sort of. Today, Wale released a stream of his new album "The Gifted" (set to drop on June 25th via iTunes. If you have a break between Kanye, Cole, and Mac, head on over to iTunes for the stream. Big ups to Wale, who is one of the first hip-hop artists to have his album streamed early via iTunes.

1. The Curse of the Gifted
2. LoveHate Thing (Feat. Sam Dew)

3. Sunshine

4. Heaven’s Afternoon (Feat. Meek Mill)

5. Golden Salvation (Jesus Piece)

6. Vanity

7. Gullible (Feat. Cee-Lo Green)

8. Bricks (Feat. Yo Gotti & Lyfe Jennings)

9. Clappers (Feat. Nicki Minaj & Juicy J)

10. Bad (Remix) (Feat. Rihanna)

11. Tired of Dreaming (Feat. Ne-Yo & Rick Ross)

12. Rotation (Feat. Wiz Khalifa & 2 Chainz)
13. Simple Man

14. 88

15. Black Heroes / Outro About Nothing (Feat. Jerry Seinfeld)

16. Bad (Feat. Tiara Thomas)

I haven’t had a chance to listen thoroughly to the whole thing, but so far it is a welcome change. Being that I am from D.C I have watched Wale’s career explode, but it hasn’t all been good. His early mixtapes like 100 Miles and Running and Mixtape About Nothing are great; he has great energy and a ton of heart to match his slick wordplay. I was so disappointed by Maybach Wale, because every song just felt like it was made for Rick Ross to get a feature and not for Wale’s unique skill set. I never hated him, but was very disappointed to see him become mainstreamed and have the quality and creativity of his music stifled.

His last mixtape, "Folarian", was a step in the right direction, but he wasn’t all the way back. From what I have heard of The Gifted, he seems to have deviated from the staggering, slow Maybach style and gotten back to his roots. I would expect, “Tired Of Dreaming” ft. Rick Ross and Ne-Yo and “Heaven’s Afternoon” ft. Meek Mill to have the Maybach sound, but it doesn’t dominate the album. So far, “Golden Salvation (Jesus Piece)” is a standout to me. If there is more of that and less of “Bait” then it should be a pretty solid album.

Early thoughts from RefinedHype Nation?

Stream "The Gifted" via iTunes

Nathan Update: This feels like an appropriate time to mention Wale just released "Clappers" as an official single. Wake me where there's a "Mute & Enjoy" video...

See Also:  Wale Brings Together Lupe & Rick Ross: Mediocre, Great, Or “Poor Decisions”? (Listen)
See Also:  Wale Has Himself A “LoveHate Thing” & Drops “The Gifted” Tracklist (Listen)
See Also:  Fails: Wale Receives A Nice Helping Of Ether From A NBA Commentator (Video)