It’s your first day of school. Your senses are on high alert. You want to make friends; you don’t want to be that kid to piss his pants (pour one out for my Hanes boxers). Simply put, you want to fit in. For most of us, that first day was a hectic one riddled with insecurities and fear of being an outcast. In effort to avoid isolation, we insert ourselves into social circles that will grant us status and ensure that we’re not eating lunch alone like Steven Glandsberg.
For Wale, that kindergarten group of friends was MMG. At a time when crews and cliques reigned supreme and dictated rapper status, latching onto a group was pivotal for career advancement. Associating with the proper peers to produce a distinct sound can be a great tool in brand building and ascending an individual’s career. I’m sure that Wale identified with MMG and their direction. I’m sure that he felt a part of something bigger than him. I’m sure that he thought this group would propel his career forward. But that was in 2011.
Fast forward four years: Wale has evolved, MMG has devolved and the game is a constantly changing landscape. Wale is a socially conscious and introspective rapper who is concerned with identifying and amending the injustices plaguing the music industry, as well as the community at large. MMG, as the acronym suggests, primarily is a group focused on materialistic possessions, toting weapons and ingesting drugs. Yes, Young Rezel is a hustler and a true artist unafraid to push boundaries, but the MMG quarterback is the crew’s exception, not the norm. A group Wale used to call home is now an estranged collection of guys who lack shared vision.
Meek’s busy digging his grave—to put it lightly—and face in Nicky’s bosom. Omarion is as relevant as a house phone. Gunplay is a 36-year old man who still refers to himself as Gunplay. However, MMG still has a few promising faces: Stalley shows potential; Rockie Fresh has his moments; French can put out hits. Despite the latter hopefuls, the label is overrun with the former over hyped, braggart individuals who rely on their demographics’ ignorance to sustain their business.
When asked about MMG’s status on The Breakfast Club, Wale responded with, “Y’all ain’t dumb,” ... “We’re not the unit we once was. It doesn’t mean that we’re not cool, we are just doing what we got to do. And that’s fine, I don’t ask no body to get in my beefs, it’s not a problem, it’s rap, there’s no bloodshed going on out here.” We’re not dumb, and neither is Wale—he’s well aware of the label’s disarray. In the same interview he aptly discussed how he is the best middle tier rapper and how he’s a couple business decisions away from launching himself into that preeminent tier.
MMG is detracting from his value and brand. Wale’s most recent album, “The Album About Nothing”, is a continuation in his Seinfeld-inspired series, and arguably his greatest and most coherent project to date. Seinfeld storylines set the framework for Wale’s tales and introspection, aided by Jerry Seinfeld’s narration. It is such a creative, unconventional and refreshing concept, and is exactly what the hip-hop world is thirsty for—and it has zero MMG features. We need creative risks in order to keep pushing the envelope further and evolving the genre. Talking about gang banging, how much lean you can ingest and/or how many bitches sat on your face last night isn’t propelling the genre forward (with the exception of The Game because he’s the man); it’s forcing regression.
So where does that leave our boy from the DMV? Without a defined label home, Wale is treading vagabond waters. If he does jump ship from MMG, he needs to collaborate with the right artists in order to foster his growth, push limits and maximize his potential. It’s why Earl Sweatshirt loves working with Vince Staples—his clever bars and diligent work ethic force Earl to bring his A-game to every recording session.
GOOD Music would be an interesting label to join, due to their creative thinking, intelligent artist roster, undeniable musical ability and arguably the best production sub-label (Very GOOD Beats). However, Wale is an alpha male. He understands his artistic vision and how to achieve it. I’m not sure if Kanye would stifle his artistic integrity, but playing second fiddle to a competitor won’t grant him that coveted preeminent tier status he’s arduously after. I honestly don’t think the answer is within a preexisting label.
The independent route is becoming more and more popular in today’s music world. Labels can offer unparalleled marketing resources, but that help comes with a steep price. When on a label, if you’re not the main focus, then you become an afterthought and aren’t deemed priority. It’s the very reason “The Album About Nothing” came out in 2015, and not 2013. Indie artists wholly own their brand and answer to themselves. They take the risks they want and don’t need to produce commercial hits to appease label heads. Look at Chance the Rapper. The dude is one of hip hop’s most gifted and intelligent artists, who rejected every label head under the sun, including an alleged $8 million offer. Chance understands how important his brand and vision are and knows that joining a label would compromise his integrity.
Wale too has a brand and a vision; they’re just eclipsed by MMG. His upcoming Go Go album is a necessary acknowledgment of his DC roots and pays homage to that music culture. Hopefully it will have old Wale flavor and privy the world to an unfamiliar sound. Hopefully it will ignite something greater.
It’s time for the DMV to have a rap group with national presence. It’s a territory that was once loud and harbored some of rap’s greats (Clipse; Neptunes), but today the region is silent. Between DC, Maryland and Virginia, I know that there is a hotbed of hungry artists.
Launching his own label with DMV personnel would be the perfect opportunity for Wale to uninhibitedly create music tailored to his vision, with the aid of local talent—it seems like a win-win situation. Lex Luger, half of 808 mafia, hails from Virginia and is a talented beat smith. He’s acquired high music acumen through a diligent work ethic and collaborating with a diverse artist base. Lex could offer the DC kid exclusive production, further establishing Wale’s brand and cementing his legacy. Every great rapper has a production counterpart who is essential to their success. Drake and 40—case and point. Being the face of a movement may garner Wale enough attention to catapult him and this hypothetical group to the next level.
Unlike Lebron’s 2014 tweet to Kevin Love, urging him to “stop trying to fit out and just fit in,” Wale should strive to “fit out”. While he’ll always be boys with MMG (well maybe not Meek), he needs to understand that sometimes, friends and business just don’t mix. Cultivating talent in the DMV area and molding them into a formative group would be an interesting experiment that could yield synergistic, exciting results. Sometimes, we just outgrow that kindergarten friend group.