BH News: They’ll All Be Talking Bout…Wale

The DC-bred rapper’s debut album, Attention: Deficit, drops this month

If you like expectation-blasting, genre-scrambling hip-hop, look no further than Wale (shortened from his less-catchy real name, Olubowale Victor Akintimehin). The 24-year-old DC-bred rapper’s debut album, Attention: Deficit, out this month, is as sonically and lyrically diverse as its name suggests. Wale’s laid-back flow (exemplified by his hook-heavy first single, “Chillin,” on which Lady Gaga lays down an M.I.A.-esque chorus) sails over syncopated go-go beats, playful blasts of brass, and inventive production, courtesy of Midas touch–producer Mark Ronson (who signed Wale to his label, Allido, in 2008) and TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek. “I try to write songs that touch people,” Wale says, “whether they’re about a woman in a bad relationship or somebody hating his job. They’re not about armed robbery or anything like that. A lot of rappers have facades, but I’m all about being honest.”