They Keep Sayin' Whale, But My Name's Wale.

My friend put me on this guy Wale (pronounced Wah-Lay; don't say
Wall-ee, he's not a trash-compacting robot from the future). Check him out.
He grew up in Northwest D.C, and was was originally bred on the D.C.-indigenous funky, percussive hip-hop sub-genre called go-go. He blew up in 2006 when the track "Dig Dug (Shake It)" became popular in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. The song became the most requested by a local artist in D.C. radio history, and was included on his first mixtape, Paint a Picture.
He has a Talib Kweli flow, a dash of Kanye's swag and bravado, and Wayne's metaphors and one-liners, without the non sequiturs. We'll call him a thinking man’s Weezy, minus the dope. His lyrics are smart, but not to the point where they get in the way. Mark Ronson describes him as, "A Cross Between Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco And Nas.
He describes himself as, "A little more Talib, less Jay-Z. A little less Nasir (Nas for those who don't know), more A-Z. A little more Consequence than Kanye, the underdog from the underground, Wale."
He's done five "official" mix tapes since 2006, three of which have received acclaim:100 Miles and Running (2007), Seinfeld-themed, The Mixtape About Nothing (2008) and Back to the Feature (2009). His Interscope Records debut album, Attention: Defecit, dropping October 20, is the exclamation point on four years of buzz-enducing mixtapes.
Aiming to break the monotony of hip-hop, you won't hear any two-step, lean back or snap on his album. One track, "Shades", featuring Chrisette Michelle, discusses inter-black racism, and ruminates on hip-hop's use of the n-word. The album also features songs about romantic dilemmas and maintaining his integrity amid the hype. On "The Bomb", Wale addresses whether his intellectual flow takes away from his street cred.
He spits: “I’m chastised. They say I’m not hood enough. Fuck it, I’m good – I just kill it with my rhetoric. A clip full of syllables, licking off shots like the last sip available. You cannot configure my particular curriculum. Ridiculous. You niggas don’t even deserve my syllabus.”
But he also likes to have some fun, so you won't need a dictionary or a textbook to enjoy the album. With production set to come from Mark Ronson, Cool & Dre, David Sitek, The Sleepwalkers, Sean C & LV of The Hitmen, and collabos from Bun B, Jazmine Sullivan, K'naan, and Marsha Ambrosius, the goal of Attention: Deficit is to be eclectic.
"I think it’s important to be a well-rounded individual, no matter what you do. And I apply that to the music I make — you have to let all of you show through. A part of me is very conscious, very politically aware and then there’s a side of me that thinks about girls 24/7, the side of me that likes to have fun." The album's first single is Chillin—which you may have heard—and features Lady Gaga.
I, personally, am glad. Hip-hop has gotten stagnant. Artists are trying to sell ringtones, not records. The rest are trying to sell drugs (or lying about selling them). I think Wale and Kanye are the link back to the old school. Yeah, Kanye whines a lot, and has a big ego, eh, eh, eh (no homo), but he's doing something different. You can hate on Kanye and 808s and Heartbreak, but nobody else in hip-hop was doing what he did on that album. Yeah, people were doing one or two tracks, but Kanye did a whole album. And it was on some real deal emotional stuff. To me, the monotony in hip-hop is disgusting, so this will be a welcomed change. Go to datpiff.com, or wherever you get your mixtapes, and pick up these. Make sure to grab that album when it comes out in October.

It's I'm So Fly coming around turn three, followed by Stuntin' Like My Daddy and Ain't No Thang

I love horses, so I've been watching the recent races on tv. I visited a stable once and was mesmerized by contrast between their size and docility. Their eyes are so inquisitive — following you around — taking in everything going on. When I spoke to them, I felt like they understood. I fell in love with horses that day.
That being said, there has to be other brothas with an appreciation for horses. They may even become new-wave flossin'. No more jewelery, Lambourgini's or yachts — just thoroughbred racing.
Nothing says stuntin' like a $15,000 animal (think Tony Mantana and the white tiger from Scarface). But that's just the horse, not to mention the costs for a trainer, vets, medication a blacksmith, quartering, stable supplies, travel expenses and management costs. If you can afford a horse, you're definitely ballin'. And any time we get to throw some money around we'll take.
And you know we'll bet on anything from a crap game to a three-legged race at a family reunion. Since we're probably already betting on the races, why not put a horse in the fight and make some money off the damn thing. You know a brotha gotta have a side hustle.
As of now, I don't think there are any brothas in horse racing. Just listen to the names: Secretariat, Mine That Bird, Affirmed, War Emblem, Seattle Slew and Real Quiet. Secretariat sounds like secretary. Not flashy enough. I don't know what the hell a Mine That Bird is. Affirmed sounds like what happens when the jury confirms a ruling in court, so that's out. Brothas don't like war, or emblems — ask George Bush. I don't think there are many brothas in Seattle to be slain, and the only time a brotha is real quiet is while he's eating. The only ones that are even close are Big Brown and Street Sense — maybe Affirmed if we're talking about action.
When we start hearing names like, Aye Li'l Shawty, Back That Thang Up, Mo' Money Mo' Problems, Ain't No Thang and Superman Dat Hoe, we'll know we've broken through. Can you imagine the announcers fumbling over those names? It would be hilarious.
"This should be a great race today John. Jay-Z's horse, "Fresh To Death" (Fresh Ta Def), is the prohibitive favorite. Young Jeezy's "I Get Lots of That" (I Gettalotta Dat) is coming in at 3-1 odds."
If you think the Kentucky Derby is a spectacle now, imagine when Jay-Z and Young Jeezy are doing the pre-race concert. It'll be like the Super Bowl of horse racing. There will be a whole new crowd watching racing. There'll be all new beefs. Instead of rapping about who's the better rapper, there will be songs about whose horse is better. Can you imagine DMX in an ascot rapping about how his horse merced Common's?
"And the Grammy for best Thoroughbred Beef Single goes to DMX for, "Your Horse Ain't Shit".