This new guy from D.C. is smart. Wale (pronounced Wah-Lay) smashes open the vocal sampling goldmine that is Seinfeld and uses it as a framework for his Mixtape About Nothing, a record that comes off as one of the best conventional-yet-not hip-hop efforts so far this year. On the opening track, Wale establishes his chosen focus with a beat adapted from the familiar mimicking of Jerry’s stand-up (”What’s the deal with…?). Totally genius.

The tape carries over beats that are derivative of D.C.’s whole Go-Go thing, and Wale’s casual yet intelligent flow. Content-wise, he touches on everything: labels, music, love, lust, success, failure, and one of the most poignant critiques of the N-word, illustrated by Michael Richards’ infamous rant and the subsequent apology for it. Moody, layered, and yet totally accessible, this is an early example from an artist who will surely shake things up in a stagnant scene. Wale brings intelligence back to flare, and I while can’t wait for his album to come out this summer, the Mixtape About Nothing will have to tide us over.