“Whether it be like 90’s soul music or Marvin Gaye or Michael Jackson, I used all of those sounds to inspire what I like to call new black soul,” Rapper Wale told a small group of lucky contest winners and local music industry influentials Friday evening hosted by Hot 104.1 FM at Shock City Studios.
He came to St. Louis on a promotional visit to share a snippet of his upcoming album GIFTED, which lands in stores and online this Tuesday (June 25).
The rising rap star played a few of his favorite selections and even shared some intimate details on the inspirations behind the songs.
“That song Sunshine shows you a lot about where I ‘m going with the album,” Wale said.
GIFTED features guest appearances by superstars like Nicki Minaj and Rihanna and he was full of energy and anticipation as he bounced, rapped along and nodded his head while he songs blasted through the speakers.
“I’m really just taking you where I am with hip-hop,” Wale said before introducing “Heaven’s afternoon,” a song that he said came to life as he was riding through his hometown of Washington D.C. and thinking about how it used to be – including people who “faded away.”
The “new black soul” he refers to showcasing through GIFTED is a mix of classic hip-hop beats, a taste of trap music with some obvious R&B influences. He even pays a slight tribute to the Go-Go roots in his hometown.
He’s especially pleased with the album – which from the sound of the singles he presented at Shock City, has some heat to it. But if he had to pick out one song in particular that he feels will resonate with audience, Wale believes it will be “88.”
“Even when I was working with Rihanna on this album, I would talk to her about icons and [expletive] like that and who we grew up watching and asking ‘what’s an icon to you,” Wale said. “Obviously the theme of it is the icons. I’m a big sneaker guy and Michael Jordan had his iconic year in 88. That’s when everything changed. He went from like a fan favorite to THE GUY in the NBA. That’s what I’m trying to say in this song. It’s going to be a busy summer and a very busy June – and I’m just trying to find my place.
Even though he made a substantial splash on the hip-hop scene thanks to hits like “Lotus Flower Bomb” and his most recent radio hit “Bad” featuring Tiara Thomas, Wale is working towards commercial success and feels like “Gifted” will be the world’s wakeup call.
“It’s real big world outside of black America and they don’t know me yet,” Wale said. “And I’m going to make sure they know me – by my terms.”
