Wale

Wale is a rapper and producer from Washington, D.C. He is Olubowale Victor Akintimehin Folarin, born in 1984, and he grows up in the city before moving to Largo, Maryland as a teenager. His music draws on Washington, D.C.’s go-go sound as well as East Coast hip hop, with production and songwriting that also cross into hip hop and R&B.

Early life and background

Wale is born to Nigerian immigrant parents and spends his early years in Northwest Washington, D.C. on Peabody Street. He attends seven different high schools in Washington, D.C. and Maryland and graduates from Quince Orchard High School in 2001. He later studies at Robert Morris College and Virginia State University on football scholarships, then attends Bowie State University before leaving in 2004 to focus on music full time. Before music becomes his main work, he takes day jobs at Sprint, Up Against The Wall and Downtown Locker Room.

Mixtapes and early recognition

He emerges on the local Washington, D.C. hip hop scene with support from WKYS-FM DJ Alizay. Radio play begins in 2004 with the single “Rhyme of the Century,” which leads to attention in the June 2005 Unsigned Hype section of The Source. In 2005 he releases his debut mixtape, Paint a Picture, and follows it with four more mixtapes over time. His 2007 mixtape 100 Miles & Running helps bring him wider notice, and his tribute to Black Thought from that release leads to contact from The Roots. He also releases The Mixtape About Nothing in 2008, a project that later becomes the basis for one of his studio albums.

Singles, collaborations and label deals

In 2006 he wins “D.C. Metro Breakthrough Artist of the Year” at WKYS’ Go-Go Awards. His single “Good Girls” reaches radio in January 2007, and Mark Ronson begins playing it on his East Village Radio show after Daniel Weisman passes it to him. Wale then records a freestyle for Ronson, appears on an unreleased remix of Lily Allen’s “Smile,” and joins Ronson on a UK tour. In June 2007 he signs a production deal with Ronson’s Allido Records.

His song “Ice Cream Girl” with TCB appears on HBO’s Entourage in 2007, and he performs “W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.” from 100 Miles at the MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas that same year. “Nike Boots” is released as iTunes’ Single of the Week in November 2007, and he later posts a remix featuring Lil Wayne and Green Lantern on his Myspace page. He also appears with Lil Wayne at the DC Stand Up event in Washington, D.C., sponsored by Nike and Footaction.

Albums

Wale signs with Interscope in 2008. His debut album, Attention Deficit, is released by Interscope in 2009. He then releases three albums on Rick Ross’s MMG label: Ambition in 2011, The Gifted in 2013, and The Album About Nothing in 2015. The Album About Nothing is based on his 2008 mixtape The Mixtape About Nothing. His debut album is said to feature production from Mark Ronson, Kanye West, Just Blaze, 9th Wonder and the duo Justice.

Media coverage and associations

Wale is profiled in outlets including AllHipHop.com, The Fader, XXL, Rolling Stone, Washington Post, URB and Entertainment Weekly during his early rise. He is also linked to a number of clothing and lifestyle brands, including The Hundreds, 10 Deep, Good Bully, Stussy and LRG, and is said to have a promotional campaign with Remy Martin and XXL. He is associated with All City Chess Club.