Artistic Integrity: Friedrich v. Wale

Ok, so I'm starting a new segment with Ill Vibes called "Artistic Integrity" inspired from the Wale track off his last mixtape. Music is a form of self expression and provides messages, it's a form of art. So, here's the plan...I'm a big fan of Art and Music, so I'm going to fuse the two. I'm going to drop a classic artwork, capture the vibe and compare it to song. I know, it's a little out there but stick with it, let's see what happens. So to top off the series, who better to do it with than the inspiration....Wale.

Caspar David Friedrich - Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog

Friedrich was a German artist inspired by the sublime power of nature and its audacity. This joint captures that exactly, as this guy is on top of the world, yet at the same time seems so small with what is around him. His stance exudes confidence like he is inspired by what he is seeing. This is what he had to say about his own artwork:

"The painter should paint not only what he has in front of him, but also what he sees inside himself. If he sees nothing within, then he should stop painting what is in front of him."

Friedrich is talking about originality, and that he has to be true to himself or else he is putting out nothing. Sounds like the hip hop game huh?

Wale - "Artistic Integrity"


George's interlude sets the tone of the track. Wale is talking about doing him, doing what he wants to do, putting the music that he wants to put out, expressing himself and not what the media wants. It is his artistic integrity. It's similar to that Friedrich quote, the painter was saying he is gonna paint what he feels, not what people want to see. Check the Wale rhymes:

"So they put me in a box with he and he and them, which is more of a circus than a fair / They work to get theirs/So to work to get theirs I'd be nothing but a replica lookin in the mirror/ Respect is still there but yo boy's right here/ We apple n oranges, but everybody pears"

Wale's quote is similar to dude, cuz he is not just trying to spit like cats in front of him cause then he would be nothing, just a "replica looking in the mirror."

Drop your thoughts...