Now known on an international level for his seamless infusion of Hip-Hop and Go Go music, Wale (pronounced wah-lay) has in a matter of years become D.C.’s most viable act. Now signed to Mark Ronson’s Allido Records which also boasts talents such as Rhymefest and fellow upstart Daniel Merriweather, Wale now finds himself on the cusp of national recognition.

On a cold Wednesday night and only days after the passing of the Washington Redskins’ Sean Taylor, Wale took the time to discuss Sean Taylor’s passing, the exploitation of Go Go music, working with Mark Ronson, his affinity for Prada jeans and his upcoming album.

Wise beyond his years, 23 year old Wale has already experienced more than most major label artists. Having toured the world and graced the cover of URB Magazine it’s safe to say he’s well on his way. This is how it went down…

Scheme: I heard you were pretty torn up over Sean Taylor’s passing. I don’t know if you knew him or not, but as a D.C. native what are your thoughts at this time?

Wale: The thing is that he’s not really one of the Redskins that be out. C.P. [Clinton Portis] be out. You’ll see C.P. at the strip clubs, the regular clubs, you know what I’m saying. But Sean Taylor just wasn’t out like that. So I’ve seen him a couple times but C.P. is my man, so I feel [the loss of Sean Taylor] through him. It’s like he lost his brother. They went to the same school together and everything. So I’m fucked up [cause, it reminds me of] my own situations where I’ve lost people to nonsense, so it seems like it’s a roller coaster every day.

Scheme: Obviously Sean Taylor’s death is going to affect D.C. sports wise, but how do you think this will affect the D.C. community, losing someone so young and so talented?

Wale: It happens a lot though. Know what I’m saying? I feel like every year there are like two or three athletes, like High School athletes, that get killed. It happens so much. But I guess the difference this time is that it’s someone that we hold close. Sean Taylor is that dude that…even folks that don’t like the Redskins like Sean Taylor. Like, even Cowboys fans like Sean Taylor. They like the way he played aggressive. I feel like he embodied D.C. on the field. He was just like…it aint sweet…like there’s nothing sweet, like he don’t care, he had that whatever attitude. I feel like a part of D.C. just died with him. As far as like the Redskins…you can’t replace someone like Sean Taylor. It’s not like he was just a great player, his attitude and the way he played was D.C.

Scheme: You just mentioned how Sean Taylor represented D.C. on the field. How do you try to represent D.C. through your music?

Wale: I feel like I embody the entire Maryland, Virginia, D.C. area. There are so many elements to it, you can’t embody the whole thing but I do a great deal. Like, I can speak for myself and people like me, but I also speak to the plight of others. I’m a narrator, so I’ll take the plight of the person next to me and mix it with my own strife; you know what I’m saying?

Scheme: A lot of artists have come out of D.C. before you, but very few have been rappers. Why do you think it’s taken till now for D.C. to finally have a Hip-Hop artist that truly has the chance to blow on an international level?

Wale: It has a lot to do with luck. It’s luck, it’s timing, it’s a lot of that. So, it’s hard to really pick out one reason. You more or less would have to ask someone who’s not from D.C. Cause there are a lot of guys from where I’m from, who’ve been doing it. Guys been out there, they just been under the radar. If you could be, ‘over the radar’, if that’s a term, then everyone would be. That’s something everybody wants, so it’s not really our call. I guess it’s the people who come to D.C. and use it as a drive through and just take from us instead of doing it the proper way. Like other artists will take from us instead of putting our artists on.

Not to dis Swizz Beatz or nothing…I just think it’s odd that he would see me perform in D.C. and see the [crowd] react [like I was] someone with a number one hit…it’s odd that he would see that, acknowledge that and dap me and say “keep in touch” and all that, and then [when] I reach out, he doesn’t respond. And then do a song like “Tambourine”, which is a straight jack of a Go Go record and not be cutting edge enough to make that call like ‘Wale let’s do this record together.’ Shit like that is the reason why [there aren’t more D.C. acts on]. That’s the reason why. Niggas come to my town, they love it, they perform with the Go Go bands, they all happy go lucky, then they leave and it’s like “whatever, yeah that was fun.” And I’m not mad at [Swizz] cause I realize aint nobody gonna do nothing for me. I represent DC, Maryland and Virginia, ain’t nobody trippin’ off us… ‘Cause they aint sold no records’…so I guess they gonna be Hollywood to us. But I guarantee you one thing, if it was Atlanta and I had it on fire like I had D.C. on fire and he saw it, I’m sure we would have done something together. I’m sure we would of. And that’s not a dis at Swizz, that’s just how the game is.

But then on the other side, you got n*ggas like Kanye, he f*ck with me, that’s my man. He like what I’m doing, he shows love. You got n*ggas like Hip-Hop, that’s my man. He love what I’m doing, shows love, it’s all good. You got Pusha T, that’s my brother. These are n*ggas who show love, who genuinely reach out to me. Like Hov…he gets it, he don’t wanna [have to catch on] all late.

I’m just saying…I ain’t asking for hand outs, but if you’re gonna say let’s work together, let’s do it. I’m not your fan, or your son. I respect what you do and you say you respect what I do, so let’s do what artists do, let’s do something creative, let’s do something amazing, let’s do something cutting edge, instead of doing the same record thirty times.

Scheme: What’s the difference between you and other artists in D.C. that has taken you from under the radar, as you mentioned earlier, to being on the cover of URB Magazine, getting mentioned in Entertainment Weekly and having single of the week on iTunes?

Wale: Honestly, I just have that chip on my shoulder. I don’t think anything has changed. I just got more of a chip. It’s like “a brick or a boulder” like Jay said. I’m almost like the angry man off of Martin now.

Scheme: About a year ago, you were affiliated with a former Roc-A-Fella exec, what happened with that situation?

Wale: We ended the relationship amicably. It just wasn’t working for us. We cool, we don’t talk much, but we cool. He had a different vision. He has another artist now that I guess is kind of in the direction that they wanted to push me. We had creative differences essentially.

Scheme: So now you’re with Mark Ronson…how did you cross paths with him and how has it been working with him so far?

Wale: It’s like playing for the dream team. Or better yet, it’s like playing for Bobby Bowden in the mid nineties or Coach Krzyzewski. It’s like if the Patriots messed around and got the Dolphins’ number one draft pick…like you’re already the top draft pick but now you’re playing for the most difficult coach ever. Like, I do thirty takes of each record with Mark. I never had that before. Because me and [Daniel] Merriweather are young and haven’t had albums out like Rhymefest, we’re really in competition with ourselves and each other. Like I go to the studio and I just want to impress Mark. Cause he’s so snobby with music, in a beautiful way, and I mean that in the most endearing way possible. He just likes what he likes and he knows what he likes and he don’t move, don’t budge. So it makes me better.

“…the beauty of it is that Wale isn’t a Go Go artist. Wale is a musician who understands that particular genre and can execute it when necessary, in a way that can be understood by the masses without diluting the music. I walk the fine line of making it understandable and making it true to its original form.”

Scheme: How much input does he have in your music and do you expect your music to change as a result of his involvement?

Wale: [Mark] doesn’t really get in the way of my creativity. Like he’ll just add in a little bit. Like, he understands he can’t write a rap…well he probably can, but he don’t rap like me and I don’t make beats like him. Like I might say, ‘I like the beat, but lets put some congos in it.’ Cause I’m from D.C., I like congos. And he’ll be like ‘ok, let’s do it.’ Or vice versa, he’ll be like ‘why don’t you say it like this.’ He has such an ear. Like Quincy Jones couldn’t sing like Michael Jackson, but he could direct him the right way. And being that I played football so long, I can understand and take instruction.

Scheme: How much of your production is Mark Ronson going to be handling moving forward?

Wale: He’s going to oversee the entire album. Ideally I’d like him to [produce] most of it. He’s just so respected amongst producers. Even though he doesn’t have as many placements on as many records as some other producers, he’s so respected musically. So a lot of the producers that I conversate with respect Mark and understand, dudes like Just Blaze - understand and respects Mark, Pharrell understands and respects Mark. And these are dudes I would love to work with. So I’m sure…them and Mark and myself could find a middle ground so [we could work together as well].

Scheme: Who do you already have involved with your album and who do you hope to get involved with it?

Wale: It’s pretty much open. You never know. I might go to the studio and bump into whoever and it might come out dope. There are artists I’d like to work with but if I do thirty records and each has a feature and my records by myself sound better then we’ll never hear those features. But artists that I admire and would want to see how the work would sound…Andre 3000…Corrine Bailey Rae…Amy Whinehouse for obvious reasons, she’s in the same camp…Daniel Merriweather…Kanye, we talked a couple times about it…that’s pretty much it. I just think it would be interesting to put me in the studio with certain people and see what happens.

Scheme: Do you have a target date for the release of your single and album?

Wale: Summertime the single might come. We’re gonna just try to keep heating it up for now. But I’m a passionate person. Like, if I do a joint with Camp Lo and it’s crazy I’m gonna say ‘yo, let’s digiwaxx this b*tch.’ I’m just a passionate person. When you get caught up in the business, that’s when you become a wack ass rapper…or trapper…or whatever you’re trying to become.

“Fashion is really over rated. Like, Complex Magazine disgusted me with their article. They [called me] “fashion forward” and a “hipster.” Slim! I don’t even know what a f*cking “hipster” is.”

Scheme: Your sound seems like an infusion of Hip-Hop and Go Go at times, how do you think that will translate on a national level?

Wale: Artists have always taken from Go Go. Oh La Oh La Eh by Kid n Play, Crazy In Love by Beyonce which is one of her biggest records ever, Tambourine, Hot In Herre [by Nelly]…

Scheme: Are people ready for the Go Go sound?

Wale: They’re not. But the beauty of it is that Wale isn’t a Go Go artist. Wale is a musician who understands that particular genre and can execute it when necessary, in a way that can be understood by the masses without diluting the music. I walk the fine line of making it understandable and making it true to its original form.

Scheme: After touring Europe as an upcoming artist, prior to even signing a deal, what did you take away from that experience?

Wale: Basically I learned that music has no bias outside of the United States. It’s almost like a heavenly experience from a musicians stand point. When it comes to breaking new artists or new music it’s almost perfect overseas. Whereas back home it’s ‘oh, It’s on a blog?’…’who’s this Whale cat?’…‘who produced this?’…so many dumb ass questions that don’t matter. That never mattered in the nineties. You think anyone asked ‘who made this Biggie beat?’ When Ready To Die dropped you think people asked ‘where was it mixed at?’…‘how big was the deal?’…‘who’s featured on it?’…‘who sang the hook?’ N*ggas wasn’t tripping off that back then but that’s how it is [now]. [In Europe] they just want to hear good music.

Scheme: From your myspace page to your magazine covers to your recent song “Nike Boots”, it seems fashion and style factor a great deal into your image. How important is fashion and style to you and how do you incorporate it into your music?

Wale: Fashion is really over rated. Like, Complex Magazine disgusted me with their article. They [called me] “fashion forward” and a “hipster.” Slim! I don’t even know what a f*cking “hipster” is. I just like what I like. I aint the [Nike] Dunk SB man. I aint bought a pair of Dunks in a year. I like Jordans. But what Black person doesn’t like Jordans? I’m sorry I don’t wear “Red Monkey” jeans or whatever they’re called. I’m sorry I don’t wear…Enyce jeans. That’s just not my style. I do like Kicking Mule, I do like Prada jeans. Does that make me a “hipster”? I don’t know any “hipsters”, or whatever they call it, that wear Prada jeans. I just like the way they fit, like the texture of them joints. I just appreciate good fashion. I could break out the violin and say it’s because when I was little, my parents aint have money when they came to this country which comes with the whole name…”Wale”…but if you grew up like that and saw something, you want it, you want it. I think that’s a plight [affecting] all black people to a certain extent. We want to be respected a little bit more for what we have rather than for who we are. What sneakers did I wear today? I wore the…the Jedi Dunks…the Nike Jedi Dunks. So I want you to look down and say ‘those are hot’, whatever. Maybe its cause subconsciously…I can’t just walk up to everybody and say ‘hey, I’m a great person’, so real quickly as I walk by I can make people say ‘hey, his shoes are dope. I like them.’

“At the end of the day you just have to make the best music you can and reflect your environment and upbringing in your music. Everybody in D.C. aint gonna like Wale. Everybody in Hong Kong ain’t gonna like Wale. Everybody in Chicago ain’t like Michael Jordan.”

Scheme: Do you find it difficult to get people in D.C. to claim you as an artist?

Wale: No, I wouldn’t [say] that. Messing with these promoters, I’ve heard they were charging $20 to get in and see me perform and heard that the price went up to $150, $200 by the time I get on. The climate is f*cked up in general when it comes to selling records [though].

Scheme: How do you plan on getting D.C. behind you on a national level and starting a movement? Similar to what San Francisco did with Hyphy music and what Chicago and Atlanta did before them…

Wale: At the end of the day you just have to make the best music you can and reflect your environment and upbringing in your music. Everybody in D.C. aint gonna like Wale. Everybody in Hong Kong ain’t gonna like Wale. Everybody in Chicago ain’t like Michael Jordan. I had to come to a conclusion. My manager and my friends kept telling me, “Wale, you cannot win everybody over.” Unless you have a song where you shout out everybody and tell them what great human beings they are and it’s your lead single and it’s number one on 106th and Park, you won’t please everybody. So I gotta just hope the fans I have now keep supporting me and that my music is good enough to pull more people in.

Scheme: What’s been your biggest obstacle to date and what advice would you give to others trying to come up behind you?

Wale: As far as advice, just be prepared and keep your circle small. Be prepared for everything, like all the negativity they’re going to try to throw at you. All the slandering, all the Complex magazines calling you a “hipster.” Be prepared for 50 year old white women on iTunes [leaving comments on your songs] saying, “I hate rap music, so I hate this song.”

I grew up playing sports where it’s much more cut and dry. Like you can’t say Ledainian Tomlinson sucks, it’s just 100% false. You can’t say Tom Brady sucks, that’s just 100% false. But with singing and rapping, it’s less fact and more opinion. So you’re basically [banking] your career on other people’s opinions. So you gotta be prepared for that. Mufuckas aint gonna like you. They gonna have there own little stupid opinions. Like, Mark [Ronson] told me to “never google yourself if you’re a musician.” Just don’t do it.

Scheme: Let’s say it’s a Saturday or Friday night and you’re not touring or recording, where can people bump into Wale?

Wale: You ask me that a year ago it would have been a Go Go or some club, but now I just like to chill in the house with my peoples. Just chill and watch tv. I really work so much man that when I hear “[let’s go to] the club” now, I think it’s work. It’s sad cause I’m only 23 and I should still be enjoying that scene but I just don’t go out that much anymore. If my people hit me about a Go Go that they really want me to go to I’ll go, but usually I’m just chillin and laying low. I signed some autographs at the grocery store the other day, I was in my slippers. I was in my slippers, some sweatpants and a hoody and somebody noticed me. That’s where you can see me. I live the life of a regular person. I’m not on the block, you know what I’m saying, that’s just not me.

Scheme: When your career is over, what would you like your legacy to be?

Wale: I just want to be known for making really good music consistently. That’s all. But I want that in it’s highest regard, in the highest form.

Scheme: If people want to learn more about Wale, where should they go?

Wale: Just listen to the music. I’m so passionate and so comfortable in my skin that I just put it all out there. I think that’s why Rock is so dope and so timeless cause it’s emotional music. Not that I’m on Carl Thomas’ level, but you put your heart on your sleeve and then you put it on record. Hip-Hop is so brag time now, everybody’s bragging - I’m this and I’m that. That’s cool, give me two or three or even four tracks of that, but tell me who you are. Tell me what’s going on…look outside and tell me what’s going on.

Scheme: Any last words?

Wale: [I] just love where I’m from. D.C., Maryland, Virgina, [I] just love it, and with that I want to make the best music I can possibly make and hopefully the people will understand the reason behind my music.

Mic Sean is a New York based journalist and artist manager. He appears weekly as an on-air personality on “Real Late with Peter Rosenberg” on New York City’s Hot 97 (WQHT).