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| Pitchfork |
 Wale's short career has taken some weird and fascinating turns. When the D.C. rapper first came on the scene, he was a hero to a certain kind of fan-- a conscious rapper who who talked about sneakers just as easily as he talked about struggles, and one who seemed comfortable rapping over different styles but who remained tied to his city's grassroots go-go scene. 2008's The Mixtape About Nothing took its "Seinfeld" theme as an unlikely jumping-off point and ended up on plenty of year-end best-of lists. But then Wale's hyped-up official debut album, 2009's Attention Deficit, was a stylistic jumble that bricked hard commercially and didn't make good on his promise with critics, and his last few mixtapes have lacked a clear direction. Last year, Wale randomly turned up on "No Hands", a strip-club track from crunk revivalist Waka Flocka Flame; when Wale put the song on his mixtape More About Nothing, he called it "The Guilty Pleasure". But "No Hands" became a massive rap-radio hit and probably saved Wale's career. In guest appearances since then, he's been remaking himself as a snarly pimp, a role that actually fits him pretty well. And then, in a truly unlikely move, surging drug-rap superstar Rick Ross signed Wale to his Maybach Music imprint.Rick Ross had a triumphant 2010. He scored the hit of the summer with the blaring gangsta anthem "B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast)"-- this despite the fact that everyone now knows that he spent time pre-rap as a prison guard and that all his tales of kingpin life are straight theatrical bullshit. He's also greatly improved as a rapper since his inauspicious beginnings, concentrating on his strengths and finding a decadent edge for his grunt-heavy, larger-than-life delivery. His Teflon Don was one of rap's best albums of 2010. And after the year he just had, he must feel like he can do anything; that's one way, anyway, to explain the roster he's assembled at Maybach Music. Right now, the label features mostly promising young critic favorites who haven't shown the kind of charisma it takes to be an actual star; Wale is just the beginning. There's also Meek Mill, a young and squeaky-voiced Philly rapper who carries the torch for ex-State Property guys like Peedi Crakk. There's Pill, a raspy fast-rapping Atlanta mixtape guy. There's Teedra Moses, a long-underrated R&B singer-songwriter who hasn't been anywhere near the pop marketplace since she released her strong 2004 album Complex Simplicity. All these artists have their strengths, and all of them work best in very specific contexts. But on the group album Self Made, Vol. 1, Ross pulls all of them away from their respective comfort zones and tosses them headfirst into the stormy, orchestral arena-rap that he himself favors. The end result is predictable: they all sound lost....full text |
| Newreleasesnow |
| Maybach Music Group (MMG) is a label imprint founded by best-selling hip-hop artist and entrepreneur Rick Ross. MMG's roster currently includes rappers Wale, Meek Mill & Pill who have all become part of Warner Bros. Records roster. Ross rose from ruling Miami's underground rap scene before coming out of the shadows to release the three biggest scores of his career: 2006's Port Of Miami, 2008's Trilla and 2009's Deeper Than Rap; all of which debuted at No. 1. MMG Presents SelfMade Vol. 1 features all of Maybach Music Group's artists as well guest appearances from others....full text |
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