Over the past couple years, a new wave of hip-hop artists has burst on the scene from all over the United States. The torches are being passed on to these new artists, and an entirely different subgenre of hip-hop has been born. They’re entertaining and sing less about the hood and more about girls, parties and having a good time. Their songs have ridiculous bass lines, they sometimes sample some of the most popular indie/electronic songs of the moment (see Wiz Khalifa w/ Empire of the Sun), and they are being recognized and helped by some of the top artists in the business (see J. Cole & Jay-Z or Kid Cudi & Kanye).  The music is catchy, danceable and its what is blowing up our iTunes right now.  Last week, we introduced you to Kid Cudi; this week we are going to the nation’s capital to introduce you to Wale.

Background:

Born and raised in Washington D.C. Grew up a standout football player and a huge sports enthusiast (an influence in a lot of his lyrics) attending college on a football scholarship. Became a locally known hip-hop artist and a feature in the Unsigned Hype column of The Source magazine led him to signing with Mark Ronson’s Allido Records by 2007. Released a mixtape for free online each year from 2005 through 2009, including the standout 100 Miles & Running featuring Ronson, and UK music scene stars Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen. In 2007, Allido Records signed a joint venture deal with the highly regarded Interscope Records, pushing Wale further into the limelight. He steadily gained popularity, performing with Ronson along tours, making guest appearances on albums, and serving as the official house band for the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, just months before his highly anticipated release of his debut album, Attention Deficit, which would open at #21 on the charts.

Track that broke him into the scene:

Chillin’ (f/ Lady Gaga), Attention: Deficit (2009)

Lesser known track to get familiar with:

World Tour (f/ Jazmine Sullivan), Attention: Deficit (2009) [posted at the bottom of the page]

Why the hype:

Wale is fun, innovative and seems like he is one of us. I had the opportunity to catch him at The Roxy in Hollywood a few months ago and he brought a tremendous amount of energy to the stage that got the whole place rockin. At one point he got his DJ to cue up “Jump Around”, the classic House of Pain joint, and came out into the crowd to jump around with his fans. It turned into a party. Coming up through the hip-hop blogs, he gained popularity through word of mouth and the internet and stays connected to his lifelong fans as well as new ones, releasing new material all the time. He has not placed himself on a pedestal and continues to work hard and entertain. I mean he’s even nicknamed “Mr. No Days Off”.

His debut album Attention: Deficit, was a work in progress for multiple years and really highlights his style and upbringing. He cites his influences as more than just A Tribe Called Quest, Jay-Z and Eminem, naming artists like The Beatles, singer-songwrtier James Morrison, R&B legend Luther Vandross and electronic pop artists M.I.A. and Santigold. The influences are all over the album. “I’m gonna call it Attention: Deficit, cuz it’s all over the place, and it’s about so much,” explains Wale. “My influences were everywhere, it was Quincy Jones, Mark Ronson, it was Kanye West, 50 Cent as far as song structure goes; it was a lot.” Wale further explains how he tries to bring a new style and approach to the genre, differing from the monotonous structures you hear on the radio. On his first single “Chillin’” he samples the ’70’s hit “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” and juxtaposes it with the recent mainstream chart topper Lady Gaga on the chorus. On “World Tour”, the chorus mimics the chorus on A Tribe Called Quest’s “Award Tour”. Throw in the more serious toned “Contemplate” featuring Rihanna and “Beautiful Bliss” with upcoming artist J. Cole, and you have a complete, wide-ranging album. In addition, he has a love for music in general, and like many of the new generation hip-hop artists, loves to sample both modern and old tracks. You could even say he was one of the first of this generation to rap over modern day music with his hit W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E. off of 100 Miles & Running which samples D.A.N.C.E. by Justice. You can also add Rihanna’s “Rude Boy”, Yael Naim’s “New Soul”, and Kanye West’s “Stronger” to the list of songs that he has covered, and truly dominated.

His music is simply fun to listen to. His voice, delivery and lyrics are all very prominent and distinguishable from other artists in the industry. In a sense, he has a backpack rapper style: tons of swagger but rapping about real shit like sports, pretty girls, and optimism. Being a sports fan, one thing that has drawn me to the hype is his ability to fit tidbits about athletes and pop culture into his lyrics. Take “Chillin” for example: In the verse “You niggas mad that you not me, I remain a Giant and you Jeremy Shockey”, Wale makes fun of his football team’s (Washington Redskins) rival the New York Giants. Shockey used to play for the Giants but now has moved to another team, where he is a much less prominent player, and not a giant. Verse 2 gets even better: “Can’t control the box, you are no Mills Lane” mentions legendary boxing referee, Lane. “Police come around, don’t nobody say nothin’ and you be with the cops, you niggas is McLovin” points to our favorite character from the popular movie Superbad. “Til I get a buzz like that nigga Chris Mullin” pokes at the Golden State Warriors old star’s haircut. And he ends it with “You Bernie Mac funny, we ain’t scared of none of ya” talking about the famous comedian. Wale is seriously witty on the bars, I know.

Wale is extremely talented and creative and we are very fortunate that he finally broke through the D.C. scene into the limelight. He’s bringing both a classic feel and modern feel to music with the immense amount of sample he uses, but also in the way he uses them, he is exposes the future of hip-hop as well. He’s on the up, and with one successful album down, his popularity is gradually taking off. He is the future of hip-hop. Check out his music and see what I mean.