Much has changed for the Washington D.C. artist within the two

year time period.

Nearly two years after the release of his debut album “Attention Deficit”, Wale is back on the scene with his second studio album Ambition.

Much has changed for the Washington D.C. artist within the two year time period. Most notably, he left Interscope Records and is now signed with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group (MMG). Now as a member of MMG, Wale makes his motives clear in the first track.Yet, the mediocre album is far from history in the making.

Not to be misconstrued, the album is overall a good listen. However, in comparison to some of Wale’s previous works, this album demonstrates a lack of consistency.

On a positive note, it is obvious that Wale was given more musical freedom on this album. The songs range from female-friendly dedications such as the popular “Lotus Flower Bomb” which features Miguel, to upbeat, pop tracks like the Diplo-produced “Slight Work” which features Big Sean.

Lloyd makes a guest appearance on “Sabotage”. All of these songs (with the exception of “Slight Work”) make up a third of the album and seem to be intended for a female audience. Listeners will be happy to witness Wale and Kid Cudi’s friendship rekindled as they work together on the song “Focused.”

Tracks like ‘Double M Genius’ allow listeners to get a taste of the witty lyricism Wale is capable of constructing. A large portion of the album, however, is spent focusing on Wale’s work ethic, how he is better than others, and his plans of becoming legendary.

There is no doubting Wale’s work ethic, but is it necessary for him to continuously remind the listener of it? Both tracks are loaded with lyrics and have epic beats, but humility will always outweigh arrogance.

Although Wale was able to be more creative with Rick Ross’s label, it is apparent (and not surprising) that the album is geared first and foremost towards the mainstream hip hop audience. Yet he is still able to deliver messages that express subject matter of importance. In “DC Or Nothin'” Wale addresses issues plaguing his hometown such as the AIDs epidemic, the surplus of teen pregnancies, violence amongst different neighborhoods and the corruption within the legal system.

Wale is an excellent artist, but this album does not display the best of his ability. The album certainly is not terrible or worth bashing, but at the same time it is not a classic. In his song “Legendary,” Wale promises his “only fear is mediocrity.” It seems that with Ambition, Wale’s greatest fear has come to light.

Grade: B-

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• Heleese Scott, Register Reporter