Breath of Fresh AIR: Pay “Attention” to Wale

By: Alex Langston
DMV not only stands for Department of Motor Vehicles but also the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area, in which new artist Wale hails from.
Wale, and that’s pronounced Wah-Lay not “Whale”, is not totally a new artist, though underground at the time, he toured with super-producer and DJ Mark Ronson two years ago in May 2007 shortly after being signed to his label Allido Records. It wasn’t until 2008 that this 24 year-old would be headed into a mainstream direction.
With his clever wordplay and the raw imagery of D.C. captured by Baltimorean video director Chris Robinson, MTV JAMS picked up Wale’s first video as “Jam of the Week” in December 2008. In early 2009, his single “Nike Boots”, which was more about the unification of brotherhood in dressing alike than the actual boots themselves. The single became more than hit, it was an anthem.
The DMV rapper released his second single and followed it with the video. This time he had some extra help from producers Cool and Dre, and another newcomer, Lady GaGa. He penned the raps and she sung catchy a hook-- “Lookin’ at, lookin’ at, lookin’ at me, look at that, look at how they lookin’ at me, eyes all sticking like honey on bees, look at that look at how they lookin’ at me”-- that taunts all others who may try to compete with the duo. Wale once again, teamed up with director Chris Robinson to shoot his next video for his most recent single “Chillin”, which uses a sample from Steam’s 1969 hit “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye”. The video aired on MTV JAMS June 8, 2009 as “Jam of the Week” which makes this his second music video to have the pleasure of being aired for a week, once every hour on the station.
It may have seemed like forever but here it is three years since Wale started taking his first steps to become hip-hop’s savior of rap music, and he’s not showing any signs slowing down. In fact, he’s released five mixtapes, has been featured in countless articles in The Rolling Stones, XXL, FADER, and UBR magazines and the front page of The Washington Post, and as of May 2009 made his first television performance on “Last Call With Carson Daly” late night talk show, all while recording his debut album set to release later this year titled, Attention Deficit.
There’s so much more to expect from Wale. He’s already crushing his competition, newcomers and veterans alike. He’s lyrically talented, has style that puts him with the dope boys on the corner to Hollywood’s elite socialites, and hey, he’s not too bad on the eyes either. Give him another three years and he’ll have more than just our attention but for right now he’s breath fresh AIR.
Check out Wale's latest video "Chillin" featuring Lady GaGa.

Wale - Chillin' ft Lady GaGa