Wise words from a post about Wale years ago. 12/28/07 to be precise.
It seems like no matter how much success Wale has, no matter how much music he gives away free, no matter how many ridiculous shows he does, no matter how much he keeps achieving things that are unprecedented for an unsigned artist, people are still hating and questioning
in the last 6 months this dude:
has toured Europe for 5 months with Mark Ronson (who just got nominated for 3 Grammy's and will win at least 1)
signed with Mark Ronson who will be producing and overseeing his album
been featured in THE FADER, front page Sunday Style section of The Washington Post, in ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY as one of 8 people to watch in 2008, in XXL Show and Prove, in Rolling Stone On The Edge, in Complex, in VIBE, in The New York Times, in The Boston Globe and on THE COVER OF URB MAGAZINE WITH JUSTICE!!! I mean, how many unsigned rappers get on the cover of a major music magazine with one of the biggest groups in the world right now?!
getting spins on WKYS, WPGC, XM Radio, Sirius, Power 106, Hot 97, Power 105...these stations are spinning to support, not cuz their parent companies told them to
is on the remix to one of the biggest songs of the year (Chris Brown/T-Pain "Kiss Kiss remix")
is on the remix to MIA's "Boyz" remix
is on a effing remix with Mary J. Blige and Maroon 5 produced by Mark Ronson
performed at the BBC Electric Proms with a 56 piece orchestra which was broadcast live in the UK
is featured on the BBC Radio 1 40th Anniversary compilation
performed at the VMA's BY HIMSELF! it wasn't like he was 50's hype man
has his own MTV You Hear It First
had Nike license one of his tracks for their website
had iTunes Single of the Week
has had over 25,000 people download his critically acclaimed mixtape 100 MILES AND RUNNING
got sponsored by Remy Martin
had a song prominently featured on ENTOURAGE
did a song with Rhymefest
got Lil Wayne on the Nike Boots remix for free
has done solo shows around the country
AND THIS IS ALL WITH NO RECORD DEAL AND NO PUBLICIST
if this isn't strategically "blowing up" I dunno what is. The fact that you are even wondering should tell you something. Is it safe to say that the majority of your favorite rappers are or have been signed to a major label? and did you know about them before their first single? most likely no. The fact that Wale has an international fanbase, is doing solo shows around the country, has 2 million plays on myspace and almost 2 million page views should indicate that he is building himself a solid foundation so that when he does get the major label push, when he does have 4 singles on the radio, when he is on tour with ______, when it comes time to the VMA's, Grammy's, etc, everybody will know him and he will have blown up on a worldwide scale and he will be around 10 years from now, pertinent as ever.
What were 3 of the biggest songs this past year? Umbrella, Party Like A Rockstar and Crank That right? go check the sales. Shop Boyz and Soulja Boy are not touring. They are not selling out venues. People buy the single and the ringtone and that's it. People do not invest in them as artists.
Wale is blowing up in a new model for the music business. Not only that, he has done it at a pretty remarkable pace. Wale is going to the first artist on a new wave of artists whose success will not be defined in the way artists were judged as recently as 5 years ago.
He was offered his first record deal 7 months ago but passed because he did not want to become another Lil ____ or Yung ____. Now that he's finally gotten himself to a place where he feels he will get the attention he deserves from a major, he is signing and the label will serve a purpose in filling in the gaps. He will record a classic album, go platinum, go on tour, win Grammy's and be mentioned with the greats in the next 2 years.
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