Washington D.C.’s free local lefty journal, the “City Paper,” is on stands today with the cover you see above.  That’s right, former D.C. resident Andrew Nosnitsky has penned a piece on Wale as of “Ambition,” titling his report “#WaleFlail.”  Noz is disappointed with Mr. Folarin; his critique is borderline scathing, heavily sardonic.  He articulates the DMV’s letdown, enumerating why everyone hates Wale.  It’s true: Wale is doubly revered and despised by the District, but not for the music-critic reasons Noz suggests.  D.C. is so territorial and heterogeneous that it’s nearly impossible to unite under one rapper, as has been proven time and time again.  But that’s another story.

Noz takes his typical approach, omniscient of all things industry, but to paint that as D.C.’s opinion is an exaggeration.  It’s certainly ballsy of the “City Paper” to grant him the cover.  But good for him; he’s not wrong, and you will certainly find yourself agreeing with a lot of what he has to say, but Noz is a Jersey boy, let’s get that straight.

But to listen to Wale’s second album, it’s pretty clear he isn’t moving beyond that growth. And it’s easy to guess why. Hip-hop is afflicted by straw-man arguments: The myth of the anonymous hater has made rappers like Wale feel impervious to critique. Each “broke hater” that comes out of the woodwork to say something negative puts more distance between him and any perceived culpability for his past failures. “Critic apologies are rare but they are my trophies,” Wale recently Tweet-ranted. In other words, he expects his audience to apologize for his bad record.

Because Wale’s definitely not an artist who was blessed with an opportunity that most would only dream of, who sorta screwed it up, and who was then given an even less likely second chance. He’s a heaven-chosen born superstar, and anybody who says otherwise, even constructively, has affronted this divinity.

Read the full story here.

The post #WaleFlail: Wale Covers the “City Paper,” with a Story by @Noz appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Hip-hop journalism tends to be as catty as it is critical.  Especially given the Internet’s drunken response to Watch the Throne, it’s hard to sort out the sycophants from the appreciators.  There is somewhat of a throne in music journalism, but it’s a bit more meritocratic; it’s elitism is more justifiable than Kanye and Jay’s because it tends to be based on an obsessive breadth of knowledge, a fuller, more holistic take on art in the age of WorldStarHipHop.

So, with that said, check out these ‘think pieces’ on Watch the Throne.  They’re not just opinions, but attempts at placing WTT within the broader context of today.  Below, three brilliant articles and my favorite quotes from each:

• “Let Them Eat Cake“: Vassar English professor Hua Hsu has written the most comprehensive WTT piece to date: “Watch the Throne suffers from a perverse sense of perspective, entire histories invoked to justify two men’s fortunes.”
• “Two Titans Share the Seat of Power“: Jon Caramanica on old- versus new-guard rap: “There’s no sense of place on Watch the Throne beyond a global here and now. The two men travel across time zones and locations, and squeeze out bursts of creativity before toweling off and making for the next spot.”
• “Does Watch the Throne Suffer from Ego Fatigue?“: My favorite rapper Noz on the overbearing personality cult of WTT‘s creators: “As you might imagine, hitlessness is a problem for the two biggest pop rappers on earth. Not for their bank accounts, of course.”

Sidebar: Almost every song on MBDTF has its own Wikipedia page, what the fuck.

The post The Throne, Watched appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

If y’all don’t know, Fat Trel is huge in DC right now, but here’s a new demographic for the 20-year-old rapper: the FADER.  Andrew Nosnitsky wrote a brief but definitive piece for #74, on stands now, and it’s just been posted online.  Click here to read it, and after the jump, two great songs by Trel to get you up to speed.

My favorite “Oh Let’s Do It” freestyle.  The top YouTube commenter puts it best: “I listened to this for Wale, I listened to this again for Fat Trel.”

Over Bmarz’s ridiculous Wale sample from “Pretty Girls” — “Tokyo spinach, yeah shawty that’s G shit” — Trel puts forth the go-go/rap jam of the summer.

The post Fat Trel, Meet the Hipsters appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.