Wale’s Seinfeld-inspired The Album About Nothing is currently No.1 on the Billboard 200, earning him his second project at the top spot in his career. Jerry Seinfeld is familiar with leading Nielsen ratings, but this marks the first time he’s on a number one album. To commemorate the achievement, Seinfeld spoke to The New York Times about the successful release, his relationship with Wale and a recent encounter with Kanye West.
The 60-year-old comedian explained that it was actually his wife who introduced him to Wale’s music, but says he met him even before The Mixtape About Nothing. “My wife was a fan and she plays his music in the house all the time. I liked it, too,” he said. “So I had heard his name and then he came to a show and asked if he could say hello, so he came backstage. I thought he was a very charming young man. And then I heard about the mixtape, and he came up with the idea of doing the whole album. It just felt so offbeat and that’s what appeals to me.”
While Seinfield admits that he isn’t an avid hip-hop fan, he thinks that Wale has a style that’s unlike any other rapper. “Wale, to me, he has a little bit of hypnotic sound in his voice,” Seinfeld said. “There’s a richness to his emotion. When you listen to the music, you can feel what he’s feeling and I like that. Great singing always has that.”
Seinfeld appears on The Album About Nothing as its narrator and Wale’s conscience. Similar to The Mixtape About Nothing and More About Nothing, the 14-track album takes cues from the series, like titling tracks with “the” in the front.
Besides being friends with Wale, Seinfeld has met another rapper friend: Kanye West. During February’s SNL 40 special, Seinfeld met Kanye for the first time. “We were in the garage and we were all freezing,” he recalls. “He invited Mrs. Seinfeld and I onto a bus that he was in. He seemed like a nice young man.”
