Wale's The Gifted dropped June 24, becoming the first Wale album to debut at No. 1, pulling in 158,000 in sales. But one golden ring remains just outside Wale's grasp: The love of the hip-hop media. None of the major magazines seem to have placed the endearing D.C. MC on their covers.
Well, if you can't get on a magazine, make your own.
Wale covers The Beat for their "Gifted Issue." Other features include brief pieces on ballerina Misty Copland, Chef Roble, ballplayer Skylar Diggins, and artist Kehinde Wiley.
It also includes threeseparateinterviews with Wale. It's a virtual cornucopia, a Walepedia if you will.
Also make sure to check out "The Gifted Hall of Fame," which includes Albert Einstein, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Sylvia Plath, and Steve Jobs. One day, one hopes, Wale will join them.
Then there is a June 25 timeline, to mark celebrate the significance of that storied date. Among the highlights: Custer's Last Stand was June 25, 1876! Mozambique gained independence from Portugal, 1975! Michael Jackson died, 2009! Then nothing happened...then Wale released The Gifted, June 25, 2013.
If you scroll all the way to the bottom, you can sign up for the next issue. If you scroll up one frame from that, you can see a quote from Gifted Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali that really sums up the project.
