Wale: In Search of a Hip-Hop Masterpiece & More!!!

Ambition is the desire to be better than the people who came before you. It’s your obsession to be good or great. How great is your obsession to chase your dream?”–Wale

This time around, every move matters.

Wale says that his career should have never gotten to this point. Hip-hop’s hottest newcomer in 2008, Wale had amassed a strong fan base after releasing five acclaimed mixtapes and signing a lucrative deal with Interscope Records.

However, his pre-debut performance did not translate into high record sales or a top charting single. Attention Deficit infamously sold 28,000 copies during the first week of its release and his most notable single came during his appearance as a featured guest on Waka Flocka’s hit, “No Hands.”

But Wale’s most devoted supporters bailed him out when the larger record label didn’t see the bigger picture. Despite poor record sales, he continued to sell out venues across the country and he currently has well over one million followers on Twitter.


Rick Ross recognized Wale’s potential and signed him to his record label, Maybach Music Group.
When did Rick Ross reach out to you?
The Maybach Music Group deal came about when I was a free agent. . I didn’t sign to be a side kick, I want to be an artist and do what I’m capable of doing musically. Ross let’s me do that. He’s the boss at the label, but he’s not bossing me around.

You caught flack from black women for not having dark-skinned females in your “Pretty Girls” video. How did that make you feel?

It wasn’t about that, but it showed me what I meant to the black culture. That made me realize that people hold me at a higher regard. That was when I knew I had to make a change. For “Pretty Girls,” I didn’t go on set until there were dark-skinned girls at the video shoot. I was waiting. The most horrible feeling in the world, was that my women think that I don’t care about them. I’d rather go broke than for my black women to think that I don’t care about them. I would rather lose everything than to have my queens think I’m turning my back on them. I was the only kid in my neighborhood with a father. And that’s because I’m African and they don’t divorce. It messed me up. When I was in Mississippi, a girl told me she had her first child at 16. So I made a song called “Illest B—- Alive.” There’s a special place in my heart for black girls. If you’re black and have a black mother, you know how special they are.

What is the most attractive thing about a woman?

I like girls who can get the intellect popping. Instead of liking me just because I rap, I like girls who can ask about where I was mentally when I thought of making a certain record. I can find a nice amount of girls who think I’m attractive or whatever, but intellect is very important. “Lotus Flower Bomb” was a record that I wanted to create a long time ago. I’m not sure if radio was ready for that at the time. That’s kind of an adult vibe. I was 23 when I was writing my first project. I was doing what I was told to do instead of doing what my heart told me to do.

How important is it for you to balance the risque songs such as “No Hands” with inspirational tracks such as “Diary”?

I want to be an advocate for the women. I may say some wild things, but that’s our time to have fun. But I stand for fixing the world our way. Let’s add spice to this and change the world. I believe women should go to school to network with others who will change the world. I’m encouraging. I’m a part of the problem, but I want to be a part of the clean up. “No Hands” is the party and “Ambitious Girls” is the clean up. We can have fun, but I hope you’re getting up and going to class. I don’t want to get in the way of that. That [is] something you have to do. For two years, I had to walk around with about $15 in my account. That was my time. I left school and had to get on my grind. I was about 21. Now show me you can work the system for four or five years and continue to do your thing.

RollingOut