Written by Marcos Arriola & Miss Wright
We went through a lot in 2020, but Wale sets his expectations high for 2021- the rest of it, that is.
The new year started off matching the energy of 2020, with the violence taking place at the Capitol, the discriminatory lack of force carried out for aggressive Trump-supporting rioters, the disproportionate amount of pandemic relief, and more. Wale has dropped a soothing track to encourage nothing but “Good Vibes” as the year continues.
Wale has always received backlash for showcasing his emotions but it’s hard not to agree with this one. Not only is it timely and indicative of a common feeling amongst arguably everyone, simply being tired, but the song’s promo pays homage to the very brave and talented Amanda Gorman.
Wale posted a brief visual representation of the song’s meaning created by Devin Fonrose (@fonrozay) on his IG this past weekend. The video starts with the ending to the poem “The Hill We Climb,” written and read by Amanda Gorman at this year’s Inauguration- the youngest poet in inauguration history.
“For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it,” said Amanda.
Whether it was Devin or Wale’s doing, starting the clip with Amanda’s words spoke to a larger theme of the song. Despite how bad things have been, how negative our circumstances can be, we can choose to be the light within the darkness- we just have to be brave enough to do so.
The video continues with short visuals depicting some of Wale’s sentiments discussed in the song such as, the reckless misuse of stimulus checks, the senseless violence, knowing the worth of our culture, and more. He calls out a few individuals for their role in the above, including conservative commentator Tomi Lahren and actor Terry Crews.
The D.C. rapper goes on to talk about the need to reset after a year like 2020. He mentions how our former president being untrustworthy and the numerous loss of Black lives has made it difficult to be patriotic going into the new year.
“Good Vibes” dropped a week ago, not even a full month into 2021, and his plight couldn’t feel more valid. It’s safe to say that we sympathize with the MMG artist when he says, “I’m so tired…”
Wale, we are tired too and while it’s difficult to keep faith during these times, we are hoping for “Good Vibes” only, for 2021 and beyond.
Check out Wale’s new single, “Good Vibes” now available everywhere.
