Ambition (2011)

Ambition is the second studio album by American rapper Wale. It was released on November 1, 2011, by Allido Records, Maybach Music Group and Warner Bros. Records. This serves as the follow-up to his debut album, Attention Deficit, which was released in 2009. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Lex Luger, T-Minus, Tha Bizness, DJ Toomp and Diplo among others. The album also features guest appearances from Rick Ross, Lloyd, Ne-Yo, Big Sean, Miguel, Meek Mill, Kid Cudi, and Jeremih.

Ambition was supported by six official singles: "That Way", "Chain Music", "Bait", Lotus Flower Bomb", "Focused" and "Sabotage". The album was also a commercial and critical success, receiving generally positive reviews from music critics. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 164,000 copies in its first week. In February 2016, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background

On July 20, 2011 Wale began releasing video blogs titled "#Nodaysoff Vlog: Wale – The Making of 'Ambition'" through the Maybach Music Group Channel. In an August 2011, interview with HipHopDX, Wale spoke about how the album is the best music he's ever made, saying: "I’m putting out 10 new songs when I get up to a million follower on Twitter - [songs not from] the album. And I got a lot of freestyles, some classic shit, not playing no more. It’s been too… I feel like I’m one of the best, you know? And I wanna give my fans a reason to brag now like, "Yo, this is what I like Wale the most." A lot of niggas is nice, I'm just tryin' to take it up a notch like, we is working. I'm working vigorously. I'm mentally getting right. Working out, getting physically right. Reading more, I'm back to the old me. The vigor that I had with 100 Miles & Running is like, all over the album, it's the best music I’ve ever made in my life and I mean that."

In the same interview, he spoke about his mindset on the album, saying: "End all, be all. You. I want to have this conversation with everybody who asks me that question. You. A lot of people would kill to be where you at, right? But you would kill seven motherfuckers to get to where you wanna go in your mind. It’s a stepping stone. Young niggas really gotta get on they shit, for real. Whether you in the league, you playing basketball, whether you selling dope, whether you in school… We gotta get on our shit! Our parents ain’t have no m'fuckin' e-mail, m'fuckers had to memorize numbers and… The least we can do is grind! How many young Lyor Cohens you see? How many young Diddys you see? None! A lot of young niggas is in it right now as if they only wanna be in it temporarily, I want it forever! Fuck the money, fuck the fame, I want niggas to say, "You know what? Wale make that… Psssh… Man… For real. For years. I love this nigga's music." Young niggas don’t aspire to be legendary no more. They don’t. Niggas our age are so consumed in the now. That’s why they follow trends. That’s why they do little akee shit, weirdo shit…know what I’m saying? Young niggas don’t want shit but "now." The temporary riches, like, I want the forever, I want the forever glory. Temporary riches is nothing to forever glory. That’s what we striving for, that’s what Ambition is."

On August 22, 2011, in an interview with MTV, Wale revealed he and Kid Cudi reconciled and were working on a song for the album, tentatively titled "Focused". This was the first time Wale and Kid Cudi collaborated musically since the release of "Is There Any Love?" in 2008. The two were previously not working together, because of a small falling-out that they had in September 2010. On September 28, 2011, through his Twitter feed, Wale announced he officially completed the album. In an October 2011, interview with Complex, Wale spoke about the album, saying: "The defining moment of my career will be Ambition.. [The album] is complete and I have every intention of making this a classic album. I was telling Drake the other day, a lot of the people that came before us worked a lot harder and things didn’t come as easy to them." In the same interview, he spoke about the song "Ambition", saying: "Ambition" is a record that's on the album that's very important because it's the title track. The most famous rapper on the album is obviously Rick Ross, so I wanted him to bring a lot of attention to "Ambition" because it's what the album is about. I also wanted my fans to hear another side of Rick Ross. He touches on some things that he never really spoke on before on that verse." He also spoke about working with DJ Toomp on the album, saying: "[I worked with the] legendary DJ Toomp on the album. I'm 100% sure Toomp is someone I will be working with a lot in the future. One of the album's most [important] records is ‘Legendary,’ which Toomp produced. All I got to say is, if I only got three minutes and 30 seconds, ‘Legendary’ is what I would want them to listen to."