Wale – Hip-Hop/Rap > The self-proclaimed “Ambassador of Rap for the Capital,” Wale (pronounced “wah-lay”) was able to transcend his status as local sensation and become a national rap contender using go-go-inspired hip-hop as the vehicle for his clever wordplay and music. Most of the major singles that ensued for him, however, were melodic slow jams spread across the tail-end of the 2000s and well into the late 2010s. These hits, such as “Lotus Flower Bomb” and “Bad,” supported albums that regularly landed near or at the top of the Billboard 200, including the chart-topping The Gifted (2013) and The Album About Nothing (2015). The proper full-length studio releases were supplemented with numerous mixtapes, featured appearances on hits by the likes of and , and starring roles on multiple volumes in ‘s Self Made compilation series. The rapper closed out the 2010s with Wow…That’s Crazy (2019), his fourth solo full-length release to enter the Top Ten of the Billboard 200. In the 2020s, he has added to his discography with an EP, The Imperfect Storm (2020), the full-length Folarin II (2021), and singles like 2023’s “Max Julian” and 2024’s “Pardon Us.”

~ Cyril Cordor & Andy Kellman, Rovi