Wale returns with “Everything Is A Lot,” his first Def Jam album, channeling personal turmoil and industry fatigue into a 16-track release.
Wale is stepping into a new chapter with Def Jam and unpacking four years of emotional weight on his upcoming album Everything Is A Lot, due out November 14.
The 16-track project marks his first full-length release since parting ways with Rick Ross’s Maybach Music Group in 2023.
Wale shared an emotionall video trailer for the album Monday (October 13)
“Ask me what I’ve been feeling lately,” Wale says in the teaser. “Everything.”
“4 years of self reflecting,” he wrote in the caption. “Letting go of what I can’t change. Watching the industry become unrecognizable in real time…. people forgetting about me . Trying to find purpose in a thankless industry . New n##### actin like I’m a new n####. (U lot are crazy for that s### ngl) Changing labels . Changing management . Finding love but scared to scar from it. When panic meets uncertainty under a sensitive microscope….The highs the lows . . The most uncertain moments of my career are ahead of me. Im ready for what ever tho.”
Wale Reflects On Changing Music Industry Landscape
The Grammy-nominated rapper debuted the album’s lead single, “Blanco,” at Dreamville Festival earlier this year.
Other tracks include “Where to Start,” which flips SWV’s 1992 R&B classic “I’m So Into You,” and “Fly Away,” which samples Maxwell’s “Pretty Wings” and dives into themes of loss and emotional detachment.
The album’s title reflects the emotional and mental toll of navigating fame, expectations, and a rapidly shifting music landscape.
“One of the underlying things is how heavy everything is in the world around me, my personal life, and the industry,” Wale told Billboard. “I carried all of that with me and got it out of my system through this project.”
Wale said his main goal was “to express a certain level of vulnerability,” something he’s leaned into more deeply this time around.
The record represents a fresh start for the Washington D.C. native, who has spent over a decade in the spotlight, often balancing commercial success with creative frustration.
“The industry is a completely different place than it was four years ago,” he said. “They had a purge, and a lot of people lost their jobs.”
Wale left Maybach Music Group after a long run that included two No. 1 albums—2013’s “The Gifted” and 2015’s “The Album About Nothing”—and four top 10 projects on the Billboard 200. His departure followed reported friction with Rick Ross and Meek Mill, though Wale hasn’t publicly detailed the split.
“Everything Is A Lot” arrives November 14 via Def Jam.
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