Wale remains to be going “100 Miles and Working.” The Washington D.C. wordsmith is reflecting on his profession and the worldwide rise of Afrobeats in a candid new sit-down for OkayAfrica’s Afrobeats Intelligence unique video podcast sequence.
Within the newest episode, host Joey Akan interviews the platinum-selling savant, who revisits his journey from Washington, D.C. standout to an artist straddling hip-hop and his Nigerian heritage.
Recognized for weaving go-go, sharp storytelling, and cultural satisfaction into his music, Wale constructed his fame from blog-era buzz with tracks like “Dig Dug (Shake It)” to chart-topping hits like “Lotus Flower Bomb.” However as he defined to Akan, the climb got here with fixed scrutiny.
“This s*** has by no means been straightforward for me,” Wale stated. “First a rapper, then he’s gonna be a Nigerian? Oh, he’s only a go-go rapper. I needed to show that I can actually rap. Oh, he can’t make a track, I made one of many largest songs… it’s only a fixed proving myself.”
All through the dialog, Wale opens up about rising up with Nigerian mother and father and feeling misunderstood in each American and African areas. He recalled his first go to to Nigeria as a surreal second, the place his U.S. success didn’t instantly translate.
“[It felt] type of surreal, primary album in America, and I’m like, they don’t actually know me in Nigeria,” he stated.
The episode additionally explores Wale’s early collaborations with Afrobeats artists and his perspective on the style’s eventual explosion in the US. He and Akan focus on the turning level when Afrobeats started gaining mainstream traction, in addition to the style’s rising world affect.
Wale additionally displays on the realities of fame, detailing each its highs and its extra difficult moments. He credit key profession strikes, together with linking with Rick Ross and showing on the Self Made compilation, with increasing his attain and reshaping how audiences considered him.
“And I signed with Rick Ross, all my verses on that ‘Self Made’ tape—loopy! I believe that put me on the map in one other manner,” he stated. “Like, my reputation grew. I knew that when my debut got here, it was going to be… it was going to be some s*** for actual.”
Regardless of his accolades, Wale shared that true validation got here in a deeply private second tied to his household.
“It by no means actually resonated with my mother and father till I did the State of the Union with Obama,” he stated. “That image’s enormous in my mother’s home. That’s once I knew like, okay, present all people.”
The complete “Afrobeats Intelligence” episode is obtainable on main platforms, together with Apple Podcasts and Spotify, with video episodes streaming on YouTube.
