But it's not just Seinfeld's fresh kicks Wale loves. Dude loves him some Seinfeld. He told Entertainment Weekly he's seen each episode at least 30 times. Appropriately, then, he hooked up with D.C. producer Best Kept Secret, laced in some voice-overs from George and Jerry, yada yada yada, and Wale's The Mixtape About Nothing was born.
Released online worldwide on Friday, the album kicks off with a track in which Wale raps over the actual Seinfeld opening theme music. Over this unique backdrop, Wale ingeniously uses Jerry's "What's the deal with " catchphrase as the foundation of his state of hip-hop analysis. This motif gives the title its double meaning. Many of the track titles seem to be a direct mockery of modern hip-hop formula, and the "mixtape about nothing" concept is no different. Wale comments on the market for current hip-hop by stating "If you love substance, then you love Wale, but most love nothing so I made this tape."
One thing is for sure, though: If this mixtape doesn't put Wale on the national radar, then hip-hop may be in as bad a shape as he says it is. Sorry, George. We're declaring this the summer of Wale.
Stream or download The Mixtape About Nothing here.
Related links:
WaleMusic.com
Wale on MySpace
The Seinfeld catchphrases dictionary
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is this running n the print edition?
Nope, this is an online news item, exclusive to the site. But look forward to something else about Wale in our September issue!