Why I like Wale...

"I don't wait for a handout, I just go out and get what I get" - Wale talking about his encounter with Kanye West on Rap-Up TV

I've been meaning to do a blog about Wale for a long time since he stepped into the hip-hop scene. Wale, a DC native, who has come out with his first album Attention Deficit, reps for the DMV, (DC, Maryland, and Virginia respectively), and totes gogo on his back like a lifeline. He, simply put, has garnered a lot of respect from me.

Wale has come out of a city, where rappers are few and far between to leave. I should know, as a native of Maryland, I've seen my share of singers/rappers/music producers trying to get "put on", sent back to the drawing board as if their style of music wasn't even a contender in the worldwide competition.

So you can imagine my intrigue when one day I got in my car, and "DC Chillin, PG Chillin" sounds through the speakers like it belongs in the mix. To even more of my shock, when I see the video he and Lady Gaga are posted up in front of various stops I used to frequent... Ben's Chilli Bowl, Madness, etc. It's like I was transported back to high school, where I wasn't teased for my pronunciation of "uhrea" (area), and go-go music was commonplace.

Wale doesn't appear to be about the glitz and glamour, typically donning a polo and a fitted, what attracted me to him was his persona, that "I'm a regular guy" mentality with a hustler's spirit to match.

I'm glad there's someone who can finally represent for the DMV, I think it's long overdue, and there is plenty talent to be found. Wale might just be the first to kick through the door and stomp in... still in his Nike Boots.

Peep his latest video for Pretty Girls: