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. Until my album drop, until June 25, I'ma talk loud with the music, I've done everything I could do, I've said everything I could say. On March 20, 2013, during an interview with MTV, Wale explained why he is tired of talking about music and said that he is ready to let his music speak for itself, saying: 'I'm not even gonna do all that other stuff. It's going to have one sound, very, very soulful' and the first single, 'Bad' is a pretty good indication of the direction I'm going for this project.' It's kind of like a persona thing I design my records and the sound a certain way for two different projects. I'm very creative, I'm knee deep in that joint. I donвЂ™t like the percussion so letвЂ™s change the snare.вЂ™ I might be doing it myself on some of the songs on there so it's a little bit different.' In March 2013, when speaking of his third studio album Wale said, 'I'm dropping my third solo album first, then a couple months after I'll probably drop the Nothing project. Self Made I could just hit a beat, but now IвЂ™m like вЂAlright, I donвЂ™t like the strings. He also explained that he would be taking his time on the album, saying: 'ItвЂ™s not coming as quick as like a lot of other projects. This new project IвЂ™m working on is definitely allowing me to do that.' I havenвЂ™t had an opportunity to stand on my own sonically as an artist as much as I would like. Kinda like when I was in my best pocketвЂ¦Just for being swarmed in my own stuff and doing Self Made and all those things. I proved a lot to my peers and to myself and to my fans so I just wanna take it back to something a little more exciting. In November 2012, during an interview with MTV, Wale explained he would be taking a new approach with his third studio album, saying:

On November 25, 2011, shortly after the release of Ambition, Wale announced on Twitter that he had already begun working on his third album. In June 2016, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 158,000 copies in its first week. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success. The Gifted was supported by four official singles- ' Bad', ' LoveHate Thing', ' Bad (Remix)' and ' Clappers'. The album also features guest appearances from Meek Mill, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa and 2 Chainz among others. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Just Blaze, Jake One, Kane Beatz, Cardiak, The Runners and Lee Major among others. The album was released on Jby Maybach Music Group, Allido Records, and Atlantic Records. The Gifted is the third studio album by American rapper Wale.

Wale the gifted track list