Image via Complex Original
Wale is often considered controversial or temperamental, but one thing can't be denied: after being roundly counted out, the rapper mounted one of the most unlikely comebacks in hip-hop history, and is now one the few major commercially-successful rappers in an era where most artists struggle to chart. He started off a promising rookie; his 2008 Mixtape About Nothing received critical acclaim; he was selected as one of XXL's innaugural top freshman the year later. And he dropped a major-label record before peers like Drake and Kid Cudi. Unfortunately, it sold disappointingly and Interscope dropped him shortly thereafter. He continued to push forward, though, and ultimately managed to attract the attention of Rick Ross, who signed the burgeoning success story to his MMG label.
His latest album, The Gifted, is likely to sell significant numbers—coming, as it does, on the back of some of the biggest singles of his career. "Bad" even received a second push, with Rihanna replacing Tiara Thomas (who "Bad" belonged to initially) on the hook. His latest single, "LoveHate Thing," features the young singer Sam Dew, and with its Marvin Gaye sample imitation of a Marvin Gaye sample, looks like another surefire hit.
But as much as we know about Wale, there are still some facts that lurk below the surface. We've dug into some of his interviews and discovered just how much we really didn't know about the rapper.
These are 20 Things You Didn't Know About Wale.
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"Careless Whisper" by George Michael is one of Wale's favorite guilty pleasure songs.
In an interview with GQ magazine, Wale told the interviewer that "Careless Whisper" and "Faith" were songs he'd like to perform at Karaoke. "I'm a black man," he told GQ. "There's a saxophone on that record—what do you want me to do?"
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Wale's first local hit, "Dig Dug (Shake It)," was a tribute to Ronald "Dig Dug" Dixon of DC go-go group Northeast Groovers.
Go-go is a style of live music that incorporates elements of funk and hip-hop. Dig Dug is the nickname of the Northeast Groover's percussionist; the band was sampled on Wale's song.
Rick Ross first met Wale when the then-unsigned rapper performed at the same show and sold as many tickets as Ross.
"I was the person performing before Rozay went on at a big concert. There was three signed acts went on before me. I just got dropped. I sold as many tickets as Rozay did...and Rozay paid me more than this label or that label could pay me."
He wants to be a guest on Eastbound & Down because he wants to be on a show that isn't "sensitive to racial jokes."
When an interviewer for British GQ asked the rapper about his favorite TV show, he decided to make the question a little more interesting and explain which show he'd like to guest on. More interesting was his reasoning: "I want to be on a show that's not sensitive to racial jokes," he told the interviewer. "I want to be on one where they call me everything and I call them right back. There's blatant racism going both ways. That's what we need. We don't need a bunch of uptight bulls*** going on no more. The world needs to take a frickin' Zanex. Everyone needs to chill out. It's a problem when you're so scared to say stuff. It's just talk, my man. Kenny Powers is a character. If you mean it then you're going to have an issue with me."
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Wale asked the creators of NBA 2k13 to have his player play like Monta Ellis.
In an interview with the Combat Jack Show, Wale explained that the creators of NBA 2k13 asked Wale how they should model his player. Other rappers who don't follow basketball end up at a disadvantage, he said, but he specifically requested Monta Ellis. When asked if he plays with his own character, Wale said yes.
Wale first pursued music after he was kicked off the Virginia State University football team.
"I told myself I was going to put all my effort into football. I worked so hard to prove myself at Virginia State, when I finally did, my attitude kind of took over. I felt like I deserved more. Even to this day, I felt like I deserved more than I was getting."
The question he is most tired of answering is, "How was it working with Lady Gaga?"
He says he's pretty tired of telling the story of how he met Rick Ross, too.
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"Touch the Sky" is his favorite song off of Kanye West's Late Registration.
"I love songs that have a simply recorded hook. It's not stacked up and crazy. It talked to me more, it felt like 'Ye was really talking to us on that joint," the rapper told Shaheem Reid at XXL.
He says the corniest episode of Saved By The Bell is the one where Slater crashes a car and says, "I was in the seat, so I'll take the heat."
Obviously, Wale likes television. He's talking about season 2, episode 4, entitled "Driver's Education." We'll let Wale take it from here: "Can we just address Mario Lopez for second? That dude was OD corny. Stonewashed denim with an elastic waistband? And his hair was so wet. Like, Soul Glo wet. Anyway, when they were probed by Mr. Belding—ridiculous name, Bell Ding…that’s like a cooking show and the chef is Mr. Hotplate. Sorry, I digress. When Belding asks Slater [about the crash], Slater goes, 'I was in the seat, so I’ll take the heat.' In the words of my super Beverly Hills manager Daniel Weisman, 'Dude, seriously?'"
Wale financed his first tour himself.
Wale made $5 million in 2012; his first tour, though, he covered his own expenses and lost money. "In any hustle, you've got to put in something to get something," the rapper said. "A lot of people think you sign a record deal, kick your feet up. I think when you sign a record deal you've got to become even more independent. If you don't get to a certain level with the push, you look crazy."
He and Lady Gaga no longer speak.
Wale credits his interactions with Lady Gaga for making him jaded about relationships in the industry. "We at the “Chillin’” video shoot talking like we friends, then we at the awards and she walked right past," he told the Fader. "She got seven, eight, nine number one records and the record we made never worked. 'Why should I still care about Wale? His record sold 28,000.' But in the studio we was homies. That was my first lesson. Not that I thought I’d be taking fucking shots of Ciroc with Lady Gaga on a Friday night watching SVU, but put it this way: friendships fluctuate with how hot you are or how cold you are in the industry."
Wale is the cousin of actor Gbenga Akinnagbe, best known for his role of Chris Partlow from HBO's The Wire.
The actor told an interviewer that he helped hand out Wale's tapes when the rapper was just starting out. "For a full week once, we took his mix tape everywhere and handed it to everyone because he is really really good. And a week later, he had a gig and it all kind of skyrocketed from there."
Wale wrote the first verse and second verses of "Lotus Flower Bomb" a year apart.
"I think that's why it came out so magical," he told Tim Westwood. "It's like two different people trying to court a woman...[the first verse is] more passive, the second verse is like, 'Let's get it in.'"
His favorite restaurant in Washington, D.C., is Oohs & Ahhs Soul Food Restaurant.
Wale was asked about his favorite secret D.C. spot. His answer? "It's not so secret," he said. "It’s where I eat at when I’m home and I feel like driving."
His father is a cabbie, and as a boy, Wale would ride to work with him in the front seat.
Wale's father was a cab driver, and his mother was a nurse. Riding around in his dad's taxi cab exposed him to diverse people and musical styles, from Phil Collins to Lucky Dube to LL Cool J and Fela Kuti.
Before music, Wale worked at Sprint, Downtown Locker Room (DTLR), and the now-defunct clothing store Up Against The Wall.
The rapper attended Robert Morris College and Virginia State University on football scholarships, then Bowie State University. After dropping out in 2004 to pursue music, he worked day jobs at Sprint, DTLR, and Up Against the Wall, a now-defunct women's clothing store in Georgetown until that career took off.
Wale's first song to get airplay was the "Apache"-sampling "Rhyme of the Century," which earned him a spot in The Source's "Unsigned Hype" column.
It was this song that earned the rapper his first major piece of positive press: a spot in The Source's "Unsigned Hype" column.
Wale's favorite Nike Foamposite shoe is the Nike Total Air Foamposite Max Silver.
Everyone knows Wale is a sneakerhead. In an interview with Shaheem Reid for XXL, Wale named his top five favorite Nike Foamposites in reverse order: Five was the Foam Pro, black-on-black with the black swoosh, four was the black-on-black Foamposite Max, three was Coppers, two was OG Penny Foam Pro 1. And his favorite were the above.
He was a huge fan of The Monkees.
When asked which band he'd like to see reform, Wale singled out The Monkees, and told a story about being on tour with Mark Ronson and arguing in the group's favor during an "elitist music snob conversation." He explained: "You see at home, we didn't have cable but we had this tape that had all their videos on there. I thought, 'These dudes are just as swagged-out as the Beatles—why isn't it poppin' off for them?' It was good music—I'm a kid from the projects and it's on my frickin' iPod."
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