As much as I don't want to admit it, my fans are the only ones that can hurt my feelings when they're not pleased with what I'm presenting. I want it to be perfect for them. I want them to have a different sense of pride in my music.
— Wale
I speak my mind. That's what we loved Tupac for.
Not everybody is a great rapper; not everybody lives for the art of lyricism.
I never understood the idea that I was a 'backpack rapper.' I think that's a lazy way that people started thinking. They like saying that because I got dreads. I look like I belong a certain place, so it's easy to put everything in a box.
I take a lot of pride in my live show and put more energy there than I do in the studio.
My dream tour would be like, me, Cole, Drake, Sean, Meek. I think that would be dope, something like that; big venues.
Not to sound corny, but intelligence is big. Everything fades, and everything can be modified. But intelligence is something you can't fake. I'm not even talking about whether you can read a thesaurus backwards. But there is a beauty in common sense.
If someone doesn't have a reason to not like you in America, they talk politics or religion. Then they get to hate you and we get to be enemies.
Every artist is supposed to get emotional. You're painting pictures of emotions.
I'm a black man in the United States of America, so I always feel like there's a target on me.
I used to have a real passion for writing, but not so much anymore - probably because I do too much of it.
I dated a lot, but I never really had anyone who was worthy of an anniversary. And most girlfriends never made it to a year, anyway.
It's a trend to insult Wale, like that makes you cool on the Internet, and a part of it is because I respond.
I've always been a Nike person.
I don't wanna sound pretentious talking about myself.
Sometimes I'm happy - you can tell via Twitter. Sometimes I'm pissed off - you can tell via Twitter. I just think, at the end of the day, I don't want them to see me as a celebrity; I just want them to see me and say, 'He's like a regular person at his job right now who's mad.'
Mix-tapes are something that have been going on for a while. They've been pretty important to hip-hop for the past 10 years. It's the way we advertise our music to the public for free.
D.C.'s a tough place to get love unless you're from D.C. It's like everybody hates you here. The only black person that everyone can agree on is Obama.
The ability to make somebody feel something: that's art. However you look at it, whether you're an author, a painter, a singer, a rapper, a spoken-word artist - art.
I'm a passionate person, to a fault at times.
I'm insecure about things. I'm not afraid to say it, though. Even when my publicist is like, 'Go on the red carpet,' I don't wanna go.
I come from a place, with all due respect, who's never had a music star in hip-hop. So the odds is already against me.
I can take an opinion, but I don't like when you try and spew hate and contaminate the way other people think. I feel like I'm one of the people that's always made music for the common man. That's why I don't really live my life the way I could. I don't stunt as much as I could stunt, 'cause that's not who my music is for.
I've seen all types of women. Celebrity girls I've dated and regular 9 to 5 girls. I've had shows where married women have tried to follow me to my hotel. My perception of women isn't very ignorant because I've seen a lot.
I like David Beckham just because of his lifestyle. He don't ever need to score another goal again. How many times has he been on the cover of GQ?
My life is better than a lot of people I know. I'm definitely happy about that.
There's no way you can win when you're the president; you've got to be the scapegoat for America's issues.
I hope everybody thinks they've got the best album. I wouldn't have put mine out if I didn't think it was the best.
I don't be remembering women that I've met before. I don't remember people as a whole. It's crazy. A lot of times, people get in their feelings, like, 'You don't remember me?!'
I used to switch up my cologne every two to three months, get a new wave - Dolce, Versace, Burberry. But Black Orchid, that joint stayed. That's the smell of beauty that stays on you... and girls love Tom Ford.
There are certain things that can be asked that get me excited. It's never a thing where I think I'm too good, I'm just the type of person who likes to be enlightened. I don't like to go through the motions.
I go out, but not too much. When I'm on tour, I just write a lot of music and sleep.
In terms of 'Seinfeld', I think there's lot of reality in a show that's supposed to be about nothing.
We lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Northwest D.C. I was essentially raised by a Panamanian man and a Jamaican woman. That's why I have such a fascination with Jamaican food.
I'm a regular person. I know a lot of people love being famous. I don't like it. I'm just chillin'. YouknowwhatI'msayin'?
My job is to inspire the people, to be on top of my game and push my culture forward.
I've become a workaholic. When the shows slow down and there's no press and I can get my time to myself in the studio with my music, I get into this zone, man. I enter this incredible space where I'm just making music. And I feel like I can work with anybody - with Elton John, with Hanson - and I can make something incredible.
Making love is, simply put, poetry in motion.
I put my foot in my mouth sometimes. I'll be the first to admit it.
Not to sound bad, but some girls are dumb. It's because they spend so much of their life trying to have the right look. On the other hand, some girls are just really smart. There are girls you can have conversations with that are healthy conversations. You can argue real life issues and solve problems together. That is what makes a woman sexy.
I want to be on a show that's not sensitive to racial jokes; I want to be on one where they call me everything and I call them right back. There's blatant racism going both ways. That's what we need.
You can be a rapper born and raised in go-go music, violence, drugs, crack, Reagonomics, and still, if you hear 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,' you're going to find a way to hum along. Guilty pleasures? It don't matter. Sue me - I like the song. To dance to it is another matter.
I'm fortunate enough to be living my dreams and a lot of other peoples' dreams.
I feel like I'm one of the more creative artists in the game. I think I'm going to be here for a while.
A lot of my female fans discovered me through the passion I have for bettering myself. Not to say the dudes don't, but my female fan-base is based off women who want to do better.
I'd love a super human memory. My memory has never been good.
Ruzzle's my therapy. When I get off the stage from a packed show and I'm exhausted, I'll just go Ruzzle for like a good 30 minutes.
I'm learning as I go. I don't know everything. I never had anybody to look at, nobody ever taught me, and where I'm from I didn't have any famous role models.
However, people need to understand that it ain't that deep to try and convince people of what your persona is. You are who you are, and what you are will show in time. What you aren't can be hidden, but eventually it will come to light. Long story short: rappers should never take themselves too seriously.
You don't necessarily pick the singles that you want when you're making a record, but for the most part it's the same process. You're the artist - you make the music that you want to make.
