Playing off the ideas and structure of his 2008 mixtape
The Mixtape About Nothing, rapper
Wale's fourth studio album uses the television sitcom Seinfeld as the framework for an introspective and autobiographical effort, and as odd as that sounds, this is the second time it has worked. It worked better the first time, but much has changed for
Wale in the seven years leading up to
The Album About Nothing, meaning a rekindled, quirky idea like this could put his fame at risk. It's a fame so huge that
Jerry Seinfeld is actually
Wale's friend now, and while the sitcom star was sampled for the 2008 mixtape, he narrates this album.
Seinfeld guides listeners through the story and sometimes his routines or thoughts inspire the songs, including the key poetic track "The Helium Balloon," where flying free and high becomes a metaphor for talent. A routine about relationships ("When you get engaged it's like starting on the roller coaster...") inspires "The Matrimony" with special guest
Usher, but the
Jerry device is used as needed, and this ironically titled effort is heavy with
Wale's own hopes, dreams, and disappointments, including dealing with a recent pregnancy, then miscarriage. "The Pessimist" with
J. Cole tackles race relations and suggests that feeling flossy and/or stoned is just a temporary distraction from the bad news across society, then "The Middle Finger" gets at the helplessness of depression as it rattles off all of the rapper's problems and then drops F-bombs and "Leave me alone" as its chorus. Package all this weighty material with
Jerry,
George, and
Elaine in the mix and the album is a creative triumph, but although
Wale's got so much to say, he often says it over the same tempo, and if it weren't for "The Girls on Drugs" (rescued from another
Seinfeld-themed mixtape, Festivus) and a couple other kicking moments, the musical spectrum here would be narrow. Still, it's a minor complaint as
The Album About Nothing is bigger, bolder, and better than expected.