On Tuesday, tweets tagged #Ambition flooded Twitter in honor of Wale’s newest album. Ambition

Wale

Maybach Music/Warner Bros.

Grade: A-

On Tuesday, tweets tagged #Ambition flooded Twitter in honor of Wale’s newest album.

The latest addition to Rick Ross’s Maybach Music record label, D.C. rapper Wale has put out an album that takes advantage of his lyrical talent. Keeping the old-school importance of lyrics alive, Wale has managed to create something special here and — as he often tells us — it isn’t easy. “It’s all work / No days off,” he proclaims in the first track, “Don’t Hold Your Applause.”

Nothing could sum up Wale’s project more than this track. The driving snare beat is accompanied by a female chorus in the background, both accentuating Wale’s D.C. sound. He fills the song with thoughts on his treatment in the rap industry. This underlying message is repeated throughout the album, including in the beginning of the second track, “Double M Genius,” which Wale opens by saying, “I tried to tell ‘em I’m one of the / best thinkers of this class I’m in … ”

It seems that no matter how much fame some artists acquire, they will always feel they’re being disrespected unless they’re considered the very best. Fortunately, this acts as a driving force for artists like Wale to keep giving their all. The title track, “Ambition,” discusses this dilemma as Wale, Ricky Rozay (Rick Ross) and Meek Mill talk about their climb to the top. The song “Slight Work,” which features up-and-coming artist Big Sean, focuses on the amount of work Wale has put into his music.

For all the diehard Wale fans out there, some things never change. Departing from the radio-rap style he exhibited on his first album, Attention Deficit, Wale is back to his mixtape roots, and the improvement in his lyrics shows. As usual, Wale provides wit and humor in his lines, along with the usual sports references.

The icing on the cake for Ambition is its focus on the artist. Unlike many rappers nowadays, Wale has produced an album that is centered around him and does not rely on others to help boost his album’s sales.

Wale also deals with the issues plaguing current hip-hop in his song “Legendary” — “Tryna see if real lyric spittin’ can buy me a Porsche / Tryna see if I get my critics as silent as auctions.” A rapper who isn’t afraid to give us a glance into his personal thoughts, Wale discusses dealing with the pressure and stress of receiving criticism throughout the album.

An album that true Wale fans will appreciate, Ambition proves that Wale’s goal of rising to the top of the rap game isn’t very far off.