This is awesome. Artwork is rad, hilarious track titles ("Best Pillz I Ever Had").. and Gucci being the anti-Drake makes it THAT much funnier. Can't attest to the quality of the actual tape, but the concept is good stuff.
DJ Dibiase and Singh Slim, hats off to you.
- 9th's production on this whole thing is fucking choiiiice. The guy's drums are classic at this point. If I had to pick a favorite beat on this, I'd go with Tito Santana (ft. Joe Budden). The way 9th throws horns over Primo-style drums.. smooth as butter.
- Wale's so far ahead of his "new class"-mates when it comes to overall entertainment value. His flow on this whole tape just drips with arrogance, in the best way.
- The inclusion of "Chillin" was done tastefully here.. all original vocals, but a new beat. The verses are backed with a hard bassline, while the chorus' have soul samples that compliment the track perfectly. THIS is what a "remix" should sound like.
- Mike Posner seemed out of place on his feature here. I dig the guy and his mixtape deserves sooo much more attention than it gets.. BUT I'd rather hear Wale on a Mike Posner track than vice versa, if you get what I'm saying. Wale tends to spit on rich, traditional hip hop beats, where Posner's a little more pop.
- "Sharp" is just beautifully produced, J-Dilla esque (Yeah, I said it). It's the way that eerie piano sample hangs over the drums.
- This is the perfect tape to drop after The Mixtape About Nothing - lighter on the concepts, heavier on the lyricism.
- Curren$y KILLED both his verses on here. Definitely checking for that dude more in the future.
- Wale's diverse subject matter on this tape is refreshing and much needed right now. Whether he's referencing about Harry Potter, Twitter, or Bob Backlund, he sounds completely comfortable.
- "Rather Be With You" is such a simple concept, but it's executed perfectly. This is an album-caliber cut. And that's not to say that most of this tape isn't.. this track is just hip hop at it's best, and it's a real treat.
- "New Soul" is the PERFECT closer here. "Through the Wire" style track where Wale's spitting a few retrospective verses, looking back on how he got to where he's at, while showing love to his classmates between 16's.
On a 5 mic scale, I'd give this a 4 easy. Since Wale brought up the Drake comparison in "New Soul", I wanna say this is better than So Far Gone, but they're really too different to even compare them like that. Mixtapes like this remind me why I listen to hip hop. It's allll beautiful music here. He's got the right to be cocky.
Wale - Back To The Feature
