Wale was born to Nigerian immigrant parents in Washington, DC. He grew up on Peabody Street in Northwest DC and moved to Largo, Maryland as a teenager. He attended seven different high schools in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, finally graduating from Quince Orchard High School in 2001. He went to Robert Morris College and Virginia State University on football scholarships, and then Bowie State University but dropped out in 2004 to pursue music full-time. Before music started paying the bills, Wale worked day jobs at Sprint, Up Against The Wall and Downtown Locker Room.
Wale emerged onto the local DC hip hop scene with the help of WKYS-FM's DJ Alizay. Wale began getting radio play in 2004 with a single called "Rhyme of the Century" which got Wale in the June 2005 "Unsigned Hype" section of Source magazine and his buzz started growing.
In November 2006, a feature ran on AllHipHop.com's Breeding Ground about Wale. The day before Thanksgiving, Wale took the stage between Lil Wayne and T.I. during the Southern Invasion tour at the Verizon Center.
In early December 2006, Wale won the award for "D.C. Metro Breakthrough Artist of the Year" at WKYS' Go-Go Awards. On December 15, The Fader magazine associate editor Nick "Catchdubs" Barat visited Wale for an interview and photo shoot which appeared in the March 2007 issue of The Fader.
Wale has an upcoming promotional campaign with Remy Martin and XXL Magazine. He has also been linked to boutique streetwear brands The Hundreds, 10 Deep and Good Bully, as well as lifestyle brands Stussy and LRG.
In January 2007, Wale released a new single to radio called "Good Girls." Daniel Weisman gave the song to Mark Ronson and on February 23, 2007, Ronson began playing the song on his East Village Radio show. A week later, at Ronson's studio, Wale recorded a freestyle for Ronson and in exchange, Ronson put Wale on an unreleased remix of Lily Allen's "Smile" which appeared on a number of music blogs around the world on March 13th, 2007. In April of 2007, Ronson asked Wale to join him on a UK tour to promote the release of his newest album. In June of 2007, Wale signed to a production deal with Ronson's Allido Records.
On June 24, 2007, Wale's "Ice Cream Girl" with TCB, was featured on the show Entourage, on HBO.
Wale performed "W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.", from his 100 Miles mixtape, at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas, NV.
Wale was also featured in the October 2007 issues of XXL and Rolling Stone. The Washington Post profiled Wale on the front page of the Sunday Style section in the October 21st, 2007 edition. Wale is featured on the cover of URB Magazine's 150th issue along with French electro group, Justice.
iTunes released "Nike Boots" as a free download on November 13th, 2007 as its "Single of the Week." On Christmas Day 2007, Wale debuted the "Nike Boots Remix" featuring Lil Wayne and Green Lantern on his myspace page. Wale and Lil Wayne played a Nike Boots event called DC Stand Up at Ibiza Nightclub in DC on January 15, 2008 which was sponsored by Nike and Footaction.
In the November 30th, 2007 issue of Entertainment Weekly, Wale is featured as one of 8 people to watch in 2008 along with actors Simon Pegg and Rachel McAdams.
On March 12, 2008, Wale announced on 93.9 WKYS that he had signed with Interscope.
On April 29, 2008, the new Roots album entitled Rising Down was released, featuring Wale on the final track. Wale's relationship with the Roots began when Black Thought heard a song recorded as a tribute to himself on Wale's 2007 mixtape 100 Miles & Running and contacted Wale.
In the June issue of the German Hip-Hop magazine JUICE Wale announced that his upcoming debut-album will feature production credits from Mark Ronson, Kanye West, Just Blaze, 9th Wonder and the French electronic music duo Justice.
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Don't Hold Your Applause
Wale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Niggas be bitches, hoes be bitches, I don't see no difference
Shawty my aim is different, DC my English iffy
Solo I be but I'm on my feet, I got these angels with me
Tired of making money, I'm on to making history
Fuck how they feel, I keeps it realer than a documentary
Shit I be feeling like real niggas don't make it to fifty
And I be feeling Malcolm, Martin, and Pac would defend me
Don't trust no cheap rubbers, don't trust no dirty bitches
Sippin moscato with models having exotic dishes
But it don't mean shit unless I know that my genre respected
I deserve praise, I deserve applause
Drawers by bad broads whenever the curtains call
It's all work, no days off
I'm on a great run, Wale Folarin
Make sure that they always talk of me
Make sure these bitches in awe for me
Make sure to give them my all
And now they know that we on
Don't ever hold your applause for me
Don't ever hold your applause for me
Don't ever hold your applause for me
Don't ever hold your applause for me
And ay ay ay
Don't ever hold your applause for me
GQ man of the year, Cudi Drizzy and me
Went away for a little, let my wisdom increase
When you winning obese, all your haters fatigued
Got me counting my blessings, it took me Haiti to see
When you rapping how you rapping, bitches pack up and leave
When you rapping how I'm rapping, they fellatio free
I was pacing myself, hope you patient as me
Plus I got a lot, niggas ain't able to see it
We black niggas with ambition, they gon respect it
And I know I'm kinda vain, but what real nigga isn't
I'm tryna style on some bitches and keep it introspective
I'm tryna stun em like everybody was second guessed it
Wale
Make sure that they always talk of me
Make sure these bitches in awe for me
Make sure to give them my all
And now they know that we on
Don't ever hold your applause for me
Don't ever hold your applause for me
Don't ever hold your applause for me
Don't ever hold your applause for me
And ay ay ay
Don't ever hold your applause for me
In this song, Wale expresses his determination to always keep pushing and striving for greatness, no matter what obstacles come his way. He admits that he treats women differently from how some men treat them, seeing them as equals rather than as inferior. He also acknowledges that he has his flaws, particularly with his English, but he has a clear purpose and is surrounded by supportive people. Wale speaks about his focus on making history rather than just making money, and how he sees his artistry as more than just something to make a profit from. The chorus of the song provides a powerful message to not hold back from applauding someone for their achievements, particularly Wale himself.
Line by Line Meaning
Inspired by women, niggas say that I treat em different
I am inspired by women and some people say that I treat them differently than I treat men.
Niggas be bitches, hoes be bitches, I don't see no difference
I don't see a difference between men who behave like bitches and women who behave like bitches.
Shawty my aim is different, DC my English iffy
My goals are different from others and my English is not perfect because I come from Washington D.C.
Solo I be but I'm on my feet, I got these angels with me
I work alone but I have my personal angels with me.
Tired of making money, I'm on to making history
I'm not only focused on making money, I'm also focused on making history.
Fuck how they feel, I keeps it realer than a documentary
I don't care about how other people feel, I always keep it real and more honest than a documentary.
Shit I be feeling like real niggas don't make it to fifty
Sometimes I feel like good people don't live long enough.
And I be feeling Malcolm, Martin, and Pac would defend me
I feel that Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Tupac Shakur would support me.
I focus on chicken, my cortizone frigid
I focus on making money and my body is immune to stress hormones.
Don't trust no cheap rubbers, don't trust no dirty bitches
I don't trust low-quality condoms, and I don't trust unclean women.
Sippin moscato with models having exotic dishes
I enjoy drinking moscato wine with attractive women while trying new exotic foods.
But it don't mean shit unless I know that my genre respected
It doesn't matter if I have all the fame and fortune, if my music genre is not respected it means nothing to me.
I deserve praise, I deserve applause
I deserve recognition and admiration for my hard work and accomplishments.
Drawers by bad broads whenever the curtains call
When I call, beautiful women appear and undress for me.
It's all work, no days off
I work hard every day, no breaks or days off.
I'm on a great run, Wale Folarin
I am currently achieving great things in my career as a musician, Wale Folarin.
GQ man of the year, Cudi Drizzy and me
I was named GQ man of the year along with Kid Cudi and Drake.
Went away for a little, let my wisdom increase
I took a break to gain wisdom and perspective.
When you winning obese, all your haters fatigued
When you are extremely successful, your enemies become tired and give up.
Got me counting my blessings, it took me Haiti to see
I am grateful for my life and successes, it took a trip to Haiti to realize that.
When you rapping how you rapping, bitches pack up and leave
When you rap as well as I do, women are attracted to me and stay for more.
When you rapping how I'm rapping, they fellatio free
When you rap as well as I do, women are willing to perform oral sex without being paid.
I was pacing myself, hope you patient as me
I took my time to achieve success, I hope my fans can be patient with me.
Plus I got a lot, niggas ain't able to see it
I have achieved a lot but some people don't recognize or appreciate it.
We black niggas with ambition, they gon respect it
We, ambitious black individuals, deserve respect and recognition for our hard work.
And I know I'm kinda vain, but what real nigga isn't
I admit that I'm a bit conceited, but most successful men are.
I'm tryna style on some bitches and keep it introspective
I want to impress women with my fashion and music while remaining self-reflective.
I'm tryna stun em like everybody was second guessed it
I want to impress people so much that they are left speechless and second-guess themselves.
Make sure that they always talk of me
I want to always be remembered and talked about.
Make sure these bitches in awe for me
I want women to be impressed and amazed by me.
Make sure to give them my all
I want to give my all to my career and my fans.
And now they know that we on
Everyone knows that I am successful and on top of my game.
Don't ever hold your applause for me
I want people to always show appreciation and give me applause when I deserve it.
And ay ay ay
An expression of excitement or enthusiasm.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRIS TOWNSEND, ERNEST PRICE, OLUBOWALE VICTOR AKINTIMEHIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind