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Another highlight is вЂњThe Pessimist,вЂќ a conscious-but-not-boring track about the current state of Black America, which has the misfortune of dropping right after Kendrick LamarвЂ™s masterful вЂњTo Pimp a Butterfly,вЂќ which handles the same racial issues in a more nuanced way. It is lyrically sharp, beautiful and actually inspirational on a level higher than anything on his recent albums. The first track, вЂњThe Intro About Nothing,вЂќ is immediately impressive - soulful, textured and a good addition to any positive-energy playlist. This album feels much more cohesive than any recent album of his. There are no jokes or any pandering club bangers. It is actually WaleвЂ™s most serious album yet. Every track begins with a snippet from a conversation between Seinfeld and Wale or an exchange from the sitcom, but none of this is intended to make you laugh. His presence on the album may lead some to assume the album has comedic tendencies, but thatвЂ™s not really the case. The two have enjoyed a very public friendship recently, sharing a Complex magazine cover and Seinfeld listing him among his top five rappers of all time during the credits of Chris RockвЂ™s film вЂњTop Five.вЂќ (The other four were Sugar Hill Gang, Eminem, Ice Cube and Sir Mix-A-Lot, proving that Seinfeld is probably not keeping up with hip-hop.) Seinfeld shares equal space with Wale on the album cover, but donвЂ™t expect anything silly. SeinfeldвЂ™s favorite rapper is Wale, naturally, since he is definitely the only active rapper Seinfeld knows about.

Seinfeld homage-wise, he really upped the ante for this album, scoring heavy studio collaboration time with Jerry Seinfeld himself, who previously made an appearance on WaleвЂ™s last album, вЂњThe Gifted.вЂќ WaleвЂ™s favorite sitcom is вЂњSeinfeld,вЂќ naturally, since it is one of the funniest sitcoms of all time. I enjoyed the song, but listening to it while writing this, I had a real chill little existential crisis. It literally made me question my review and the nature of criticism in general. ItвЂ™s fun to talk.вЂќ When I was writing this review, I had the mentality of вЂњuh-oh, Wale is gonna read this and whine about me on Twitter,вЂќ but now I realize he already responded on the album. They donвЂ™t believe half the s- they say.вЂ‰.вЂ‰. On this album, however, he responds to critics in a way that isnвЂ™t insufferable with the song вЂњThe Middle Finger.вЂќ Seinfeld - who appears throughout the album - says, вЂњLet вЂ™em talk.вЂ‰.вЂ‰. His public brand morphed into вЂњrapper with the ego of Kanye West, without the songs to justify it.вЂќ He made it increasingly difficult to root for him, antagonizing himself to the point where it seemed like a hobby. For years now, it has felt like there was a loss of a specific artistic voice. The artist who rose to fame rapping over go-go beats strayed from his earliest work in a way that felt less like creative growth and more like a boring attempt to appeal to everyone. WaleвЂ™s past couple of years have been strange after signing to Rick RossвЂ™s Maybach Music Group, heвЂ™s released some popular singles, mostly his вЂњR&B feature on the hook/songs you can have sex toвЂќ tracks (e.g., вЂњBad,вЂќ вЂњLotus Flower BombвЂќ), and he found significantly increased commercial success inversely proportional to critical success. And while I definitely still hate every single Wale interview I watch, it turns out I may have to apologize for calling his music trash.

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Full disclosure: IвЂ™ve publicly hated on Wale semi-regularly online, having once posted a picture on Twitter of me and a full trash can, with the caption вЂњfinally got a picture with Wale.вЂќ But IвЂ™ve hated on lots of rappers. ItвЂ™s called вЂњThe Album About NothingвЂќ and it is the fourth вЂњSeinfeldвЂќ-themed release from Wale, following his 2008 breakout, вЂњMixtape About NothingвЂќ (which featured a cameo from Julia Louis-Dreyfus), 2010вЂ™s вЂњMore About NothingвЂќ and 2014вЂ™s вЂњFestivus.вЂќ Because Jerry Seinfeld is actually on this new album, The Post thought it would be relevant to have a stand-up comedian who used to live in D.C who talks a lot about rap ( me, Brandon Wardell) review it. The Washington Post asked me to review the latest album by Wale, D.C.вЂ™s most famous rapper, who also happens to be a serious вЂњSeinfeldвЂќ fanboy.

Wale the gifted cover