Wale Reveals Why He Scrapped Original Title For “The Gifted” [Video]

Maybach Music Group's Wale recently discussed his upcoming The Gifted album and revealed what his third solo project's original title was.

According to Wale, he initially planned to name the LP “The Curse of the Gifted.”

“The initial title of the album was ‘The Curse of the Gifted.’ But there’s such a connotation, you might hear the album a certain way if I went with that title. That’s the underlying theme of The Gifted is that there’s things that come with it. There really might not be anything non-monetary that comes with it because your sanity, you give it up a little bit when you get famous.” (The Round Up)

A few days ago, MMG leader Rick Ross boasted about the rapper’s LP.

“He’s coming out in a couple of months, [his album’s] called the Gifted. This is such an incredible album, I’m proud of the homie, you know what I’m saying? He’s staying true to his roots with one of the biggest records. Salute to everybody who’s supporting his first single, ‘Bad.’ Shout-out to Tiara Thomas. It’s one of the fastest growing records.” (Q 93.3)

Last week, the rapper talked about wanting his music to speak for him.

“I’m not even gonna do all that other stuff. I’ma talk with the music. Until my album drop, until June 25, I’ma talk loud with the music,” Wale said, refusing to give any summations of his upcoming LP. “I’ve done everything I could do, I’ve said everything I could say. I’ve kissed the babies, I’ve shook the hands — now let’s let the music talk because I ain’t about to come here and tell y’all exactly how I feel no more. I’ma let it all sing in the music,” he huffed. (MTV)

After weeks of speculation, the Washington, D.C. native announced his new album’s title in mid-March.

This afternoon on Twitter, hometown hip-hop star Wale announced that his third studio album will be titled The Gifted, and it’s expected to drop June 25. No word on whether the title of Wale’s new album was influenced by Nina Simone‘s 1970 song “Young, Gifted, and Black,” but we can speculate. (Washington City Paper)

Check out Wale’s interview: