Wale put loads of thought into his third album “The Gifted,” out today (June 25). And it didn’t stop with the music. As he noted two weeks ago sitting in Billboard’s studio for a Track-by-Track breakdown of the effort, the Maybach Music Group rhymer’s creativity bled into the set’s artwork—a bust of Wale is the cover image and aims to “Tell you the story of what’s to come,” he says.
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“The Curse of the Gifted,” “The Gifted’s” intro finds that bust being spray-painted by haters, guys who think he’s undeserving of the homage. With both his words and the album’s expansive sound, he goes on to prove that his skills merit acknowledgement.
“I spent more time tweaking the sound of it than writing my raps,” Wale says of how he achieved his “new Black soul” groove. To find out even more about “The Gifted,” watch the clip above and be sure to let us know what you think of it and the album in the comments below.