In this music industry, we speak time and time again about the rappers who have the skill set to be one of the top players, yet still feel under appreciated. For me, that artist is Wale. Having first made his debut in the era alongside Drake, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and Big Sean, Wale was someone who stood toe to toe with all of these artists and was still able to shine bright regardless. I covered Wale’s album last year Wow…That’s Crazy here on the site and despite it being one of his best bodies of work, he still feels that he can do more. Wale as of late, still feels as if something is missing in his career, and he sits down with Joe Budden for his interview series “Pull Up” to add some clarification to some of the conversation revolving around his name.
Joe Budden has become one of the most unique conversationalists that we currently have in the music industry. The way he really taps into the artists mind and really get some of those non-traditional answers out of these artists, really makes for some pretty compelling content and leaves all viewers very informed on whoever he happens to be seated across from. The great thing about Joe Budden that many people including myself respect and look up to, is his way of still keeping the interview about music, yet still taking it in a direction of speaking about how an artist really feels inside. this is something that can often go unnoticed and many interviews may not cover these avenues, so it’s amazing to see that we still have some great journalism tactics in the industry.
In this instance, Wale and Joe Budden speak about Wale’s current stance on the music industry and his thoughts about his desires to still want more record plaques, even though he has obtained many in the past. Wale also speaks more about his feelings on his smash hit “On Chill” feat Jeremih not getting nominated for a Grammy Award despite it being one of the biggest hits on radio last year. The topic of anxiety also is brought up in this interview as Wale speaks on his fear and/or paranoia he experiences when dealing with people, hoping not to rub them the wrong way. Another important topic here is when Wale spoke on his one thing that he wish he was able to do in music, of having the luxury of putting an album out and immediately have people support it while he disappears for a bit to regenerate.
Nonetheless, there is some amazing content here to enjoy in the almost two hour sit down between these two, so check out the interview in it’s entirety below!