Wale on the DX

I admit we are Stans for the homie, Wale. Good Interview at DX. Speaks on way too many topics: Pharrell, The Roots, Nike, GoGo Music. Read for yourself after the jump…

Amanda Bassa writes:
Amanda: So you just returned from Los Angeles for a trip to the Grammy awards. How was it?
Wale: Great man. I put together the last piece of the people
that I needed to meet to put together my perfect album, and that was
Pharrell. We talked for a minute on Rodeo Drive where we bumped into
eachother. We talked for about fifteen minutes in the middle of the
street. So, that was cool. And the homie Mark – you know my labelmate,
the person who runs my label, won three Grammys. It was very
inspirational.

A: Pharrell? You planning on keeping it local with DMV artists?
Wale: Man, Pharrell already know. Pusha T? Look out for the record. I got a crazy, crazy, joint I did with two people. One is from Texas, one from Virginia. It’s crazy. Crazy!

A: I heard you’re going to be on The Roots’ upcoming LP as well. What’s good with that?
Wale: I mean it’s a great record, you know? Yeah. It’s a great record.

A: You shouted out Black Thought on 100 Miles and Running. So did he reach out to you because of that?
Wale: They just liked my stuff, you know what I’m saying? It
was like a mutual respect. And now it’s just like whenever they talk, I
listen.

A: Hm…”Nike Boots”. How does it feel to pretty much have the theme song for a shoe?
Wale: It was a good look. It was just the other side of
Wale…there’s the trendsetting, tastemaker Wale that’s the one that’s
more exposed. But the other side of Wale is just the Wale that walks
around D.C. and Maryland all the time in Nike boots. The street
narrator side of Wale doesn’t really get exposed as much, but on this
mixtape [Mixtape About Nothing] it’ll probably come out more.

A: Explain the Nike boot thing to people that may not be from around here and not understand it as much.
Wale: It’s pretty much a metaphor for the dark state of mind
of a person that’s within the confines of D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
You know, the unimpressed, dark, unmovable, unscratchable…

A: A lot of people are saying that you’re putting D.C. on the map. You’re the one to really do it, it’s all you, etc…
Wale: You know the thing is that I used to be caught up
with that “putting D.C. on the map”, and doin’ it, and being the first,
but now I just say “man…”. I had a long talk with Jay and he just said
“make the best music you can make”. And at the end of the day you have
to take a step back and say, “yo, that’s all I really can do. Just make
the best music I can make.” That’s it. I mean I love where I’m from,
but I’m not going to sit up here and…you know. Because then you lose
sight of the common goal, which is to make great music. Timeless music.

A: But with a mindstate like that, how do you react when
people compare you to artists like Lupe Fiasco? “Wale is the next
Lupe,” and all of that stuff.
Wale: Diehard Lupe fans are going to be offended by
that. And then they’re already going to make their judgements about me
and then not be Wale fans. So it’s unfair to me, and it’s unfair to
Lupe. And Wale fans are going to get mad and then be like, “well, you
can’t say that”. So I just say let every artist fight his own battle,
have his own plight, and walk his own walk. And never compare any two
artists, because it’s unfair to both. I personally don’t see any
comparisons to Lupe. At all. And Lupe probably doesn’t see any
comparisons either.

A: There’s a definite gogo element in your mixtapes, and
you’ve been on tracks such as Mambo Sauce’s “Welcome to D.C.” remix,
and this has brought gogo to the ears of people who hadn’t been exposed
to it previously. Do you think that now is the time that gogo is going
to blow up and leave the confines of the district?
Wale: It’s hard to really say. Everything runs its
course. Gogo could never blow up, or it could be the phenomenon of
2008-2009, and so on. But you really can’t say, man.

A: Do you think that would be detrimental though? Would going mainstream possibly risk sanitizing the gogo sound?
Wale: I mean, music is music man. It’s made for people to
hear. If I make a new genre of music in the confines of this room that
holds four or five people in it right now, it’s not like “Oh, well,
this music is only for the four or five people in this room right now”,
it’s for anybody that’s blessed to have a set of ears, you know what
I’m saying?

A: I’m surprised gogo didn’t catch on earlier. Is there any sort of reason in your mind as to why this may be the case?
Wale: Maybe because it’s too regional and people
are protective over it. Maybe it’s an acquired taste. I grew up on it.
I remember block parties, I remember Junkyard, I remember all those
things, and those things are just…we made it up. We made it up and we
ran with it before you found out about it, and it took so long for you
to find out about it that it became regional. It became something that
only we understand.

A: I mean even Spike Lee hooked it up with “Da Butt” in School Daze, but even then, people know that song but they don’t associate it with gogo.
Wale: Yeah, it doesn’t register. Maybe they didn’t follow up well enough.

A: I miss those old days.
Wale: I miss ‘em too, man.

A: What’s good with the debut album? A Wale LP?
Wale: We got guys. I got good mentors, man. I got good
people that I can play songs for and give ideas to and get their
feedback from. I got guys like Ronson and Just Blaze that I talk to on
a creative level every once in a while. And most importantly I got the
people that I’ve been hanging with. I have so many songs, so you never
know. When the deal is done, and I play the records for whoever it may
be, whether it be Def Jam, Capitol, or whoever…I have a good
foundation. I got Rique, Dan, Mike – these guys over here that I play
the records for, and they have great ears, you know what I mean? And we
haven’t let eachother down yet as far as me writing a record and them
saying “OK, go to radio with this”. We haven’t let eachother down yet.
We got the “Impala test”. When it sounds good in Rique’s Impala, then
we run with it to radio.

A: You got that look on your face like you’re anxious.
Wale: Oh man, I’m ready. We’re looking at this fall for it
to come out. But I’m going to keep everybody, you know, appeased in the
meantime.

A: One of the largest critiques that you get from people is
that you rep D.C. but you’re from PG County. What’s up with that? It’s
like the area isn’t unified.
Wale\: [Laughs] If they got something to say, that’s
great. I mean I lived in D.C. for ten years, I lived in PG County for
thirteen. So I mean, you know, sue me. I’ve done more shows in D.C.
than I have in PG. You know, a lot of my family is still in D.C., most
of my team is from D.C. It’s just like when you go to Europe and you be
like “Well I live in Largo. I live in Landover,” they’re gonna be like
“huh?”. So you’re like “OK, D.C.”. You know what I’m sayin’? You know.
D.C., like right there. D.C., the district, is made for
working. PG is made for the people that work in D.C., you know what I’m
saying? I work in D.C. You know, I was born there, so if I rep Maryland
hard then the people that knew me when I was in D.C. would be like “why
don’t you ever rep D.C.?”, so it’s a catch 22.

A: Do you think that’s bad though? There’s just this separation within the area.
Wale: It’s segregation. It’s like School Daze all
over again. But I don’t care. It’s all good. Like I said, most of my
team grew up in D.C. and we just migrated. Everybody migrates. 90% of
us won’t live there in the next ten years anyway.

A: So let’s say somebody from out of town that had never been
here before was coming to D.C. What’s the one place you would tell them
to make sure they got to?
Wale: Hm. That’s a good question. Ben’s Chili Bowl. Or Georgetown to go shopping.

A: The Mixtape About Nothing. What’s it about, besides nothing?
Wale: At the end of the day, mixtapes really aren’t about
anything anyway. They’re just songs you couldn’t clear and freestyles.
So I flipped it around. The undertone of that message is that there’s a
lot of issues I’m talking about, a lot of things I talk about.

A: So it’s more serious than your other tapes?
Wale: It is. And that’s the funny thing about it. The title is the Mixtape About Nothing, and, you know, it’s more about something. When you hear it, you’ll figure it out.

A: I heard you’re using Seinfeld as a theme for it. Will people who don’t know much about Seinfeld still be able to appreciate it?
Wale: They’re going to like it because of the lyrical excellence that I exercise on it.

A: When you say you’re talking about “something”, do you mean local issues, or…?
Wale: You’ll see. There’s a lot of things that I’m talking about, but you’ll get it. Immediately.

A: What’s the release date looking like on that project?
Wale: March. Mid-to-late March.

A: Any final thoughts?
Wale: Look out for the Mixtape About Nothing, keep supporting me, and you know…D.C., Maryland, and Virginia!