For the third year-in-a-row, Wale began his new year with a headlining performance at the Fillmore in Silver Spring, Maryland.

HotNewHipHop caught up with The Gifted emcee while he was still in the DMV area to speak about his recently released Festivus mixtape and his forthcoming album, The Album About Nothing.

“This is the most creative musical experience I’ve ever tried to offer,” he says in regards to his fourth studio album. “One of those things that you gonna get this joint or you not. A lot of people ain’t gonna get it, but the people that get it are gonna say it’s genius. This is my moment to show what I can do from a music director standpoint.”

Festivus contained features from Chance the Rapper, Ab-Soul, Pusha T and Fat Trel, among others, but The Album About Nothing, Wale says is all him.

“Festivus ain’t nothing compared to it,” he explains. “It’s all me right now. I ain’t have no features on it, except Jeremih and J. Cole did a hook.”

The mixtape was released for free via several streaming sites including Soundcloud, DatPiff and Live Mixtapes. Wale says that despite advice from Jay Z and Rick Ross not to give out free music, the MMG rapper decided to anyways.

“I feel a little uncomfortable when I don’t give people [music],” he says. “Jay and Ross, they was like, ‘don’t drop no free project.’ I’m just like, ‘I can’t even sleep at night. I have to.’ I’m sleeping better now. I’m sleeping ’til 9 o’clock in the morning.”

Check out the entire interview below:

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