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.
http://www.myspace.com/wale202
The Number Won
Wale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I keep my friends close , enemies closer , fuck both , i dont trust no one ,
* Seinfeld skit*
When you strive for perfection ,
Desire get confused and you could lose your direction ,
I lost my connection with a bredjrin ,
Athlete mentality so fuck my competition ,
Me and him was homeless , maybe we still cool ,
Maybe its on me , or brother its on you ,
Or maybe its they fault that we aint holla since June ,
Fuck it we on the move , none of use tryna lose ,
I am out of this world and you a man on the moon ,
I'll meet you in the sky ,
Look this whole time , we was comin from separate towns tu hold down ,
I figure this where my heart at ,
This shit has got my soul ,
I tell them niggas picture me rollin i get the Kodak ,
If ya'll don't know ya history ya'll should look a lil' closer ,
I feel like Quasimoto with all this shit on my shoulders ,
They say this media changed , these verses gettin strange ,
Who you know famous and rich can say the same.? ,
How can niggas blame us , i am not ashamed but ,
I don't understand how this game made us strangers , look ,
Competition , for the love and anyway it go , they gon remember us ,
My nigga , its all love , that's how this shit be goin when you go for number one ,
We tryna be number one , number one , we tryna be number one ,
When you strive for perfection ,
Desire get confused and you could lose your direction ,
I lost my connection with my woman ,
I needed her support but she was thinkin bout a marriage , FORGET IT.!
I know your love is the purest ,
But sexin without affection is necessary for some of us ,
Here's my heart you can hold it , I won't need it on this road trip ,
And I aint tryna cheat so go head , leave me to my lonesome ,
GO.! you free to go about your business ,
But if we back to business hope we resurrect the feelin ,
I'm a real nigga , them other niggas fill in ,
The only girl I say I love you , and i'm not pretendin ,
Look , I got no time for that type of connection ,
Meantime , I hope you keep your vagina protected ,
Your friends say , why we not together yet
Sad but its true , but I ain't on ya level yet ,
Tryna keep a level head , Workin like a Mexican ,
Runnin this bitch , feel like i deserve a medal here ,
First placin it , wine wastin it ,
With all due respect , I cant have you in the way of it ,
Competition , she in love , and anyway it go ,
I'm gon remember her , but still ,
My nature , its all love , that's how that shit be goin ,
She vying for number one , Tryna be number one ,
She tryna be number one , she tryna be number one , tryna be number ONE,!
In "The Number Won," Wale grapples with trust and competition. He starts the song by saying that he doesn't trust anyone, including his friends and enemies. This suggests that he may have been betrayed in the past or has had negative experiences with both groups. He then mentions a "bredjrin," or a close friend, who he may have lost touch with because of his competitive mentality. Wale has a desire for perfection, which can cause confusion and lead him to lose his direction. He emphasizes his commitment to being number one and striving for success, but it has come at a cost.
The second verse delves into Wale's personal life, specifically his relationship with a woman. He acknowledges her love but mentions that they are not on the same level. He values her but is not willing to give up his own dreams and aspirations to pursue a married life with her. This has caused a rift in their relationship, and Wale knows that he needs to focus on his career instead of a romantic relationship. He says that he doesn't have time for an emotional connection at the moment but hopes that they can rekindle their feelings in the future. Overall, "The Number Won" explores Wale's dedication to his craft and the sacrifices he has had to make to achieve his goals.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't trust no one ,
I have trust issues and do not trust anyone.
I keep my friends close , enemies closer , fuck both , i dont trust no one ,
I keep those closest to me so that I can keep an eye on them but ultimately, I do not trust anyone.
* Seinfeld skit*
Reference to a comedy skit from Seinfeld.
When you strive for perfection ,
When one seeks perfection,
Desire get confused and you could lose your direction ,
One's pursuit of perfection can lead to confusion and a loss of direction.
I lost my connection with a bredjrin ,
I have lost touch with a friend.
Athlete mentality so fuck my competition ,
I have a competitive mindset and do not care about my opponents.
Me and him was homeless , maybe we still cool ,
My friend and I were homeless at one point and may still be cool with each other.
But every time we book , we stay in our green room ,
Whenever we perform or attend events, we stay in our green room.
Maybe its on me , or brother its on you ,
It could be my fault or my friend's fault as to why we haven't kept in touch.
Or maybe its they fault that we aint holla since June ,
It may be the fault of others that my friend and I have not talked since June.
Fuck it we on the move , none of use tryna lose ,
We are focused on moving forward and not losing.
I am out of this world and you a man on the moon ,
I am unique and extraordinary while my friend is just average.
I'll meet you in the sky ,
We will meet each other at the top.
Look this whole time , we was comin from separate towns tu hold down ,
All this time we were coming from different places to achieve a common goal.
I figure this where my heart at ,
This is where my passion lies.
This shit has got my soul ,
This passion has consumed me.
I tell them niggas picture me rollin i get the Kodak ,
I tell others to imagine me being successful and taking pictures to capture the moment.
If ya'll don't know ya history ya'll should look a lil' closer ,
If people do not know their history, they should examine it more closely.
I feel like Quasimoto with all this shit on my shoulders ,
I feel burdened by my responsibilities and issues.
They say this media changed , these verses gettin strange ,
People claim that the media has changed and music lyrics have become more peculiar.
Who you know famous and rich can say the same.? ,
Who else that is famous and wealthy shares this same experience?
How can niggas blame us , i am not ashamed but ,
Why do people blame us? I am not ashamed though.
I don't understand how this game made us strangers , look ,
I do not comprehend how this industry has caused us to become distant from each other.
Competition , for the love and anyway it go , they gon remember us ,
Through competition and passion, people will remember us.
My nigga , its all love , that's how this shit be goin when you go for number one ,
It's all love between us because this is how things go when you are striving to be number one.
We tryna be number one , number one , we tryna be number one ,
We are trying to be the best.
I lost my connection with my woman ,
I have lost my emotional bond with my partner.
I needed her support but she was thinkin bout a marriage , FORGET IT.!,
I needed her emotional support but she was only thinking about marriage, which is not what I want.
I know your love is the purest ,
I know that your love for me is genuine.
But sexin without affection is necessary for some of us ,
Sex without emotional connection is needed for some people.
Here's my heart you can hold it , I won't need it on this road trip ,
You can keep my heart as I will not need it on this journey.
And I aint tryna cheat so go head , leave me to my lonesome ,
I do not want to cheat so you can leave me alone.
GO.! you free to go about your business ,
You are free to do what you want.
But if we back to business hope we resurrect the feelin ,
If we restart our relationship, I hope we can bring back the emotional connection.
I'm a real nigga , them other niggas fill in ,
I am genuine and real, while others are just filling in.
The only girl I say I love you , and i'm not pretendin ,
The only girl I tell that I love and I am not lying.
Look , I got no time for that type of connection ,
I do not have time for that kind of relationship.
Meantime , I hope you keep your vagina protected ,
In the meantime, I hope you are practicing safe sex.
Your friends say , why we not together yet
Your friends are wondering why we are not together yet.
Sad but its true , but I ain't on ya level yet ,
It is unfortunate, but I am not on your level yet.
Tryna keep a level head , Workin like a Mexican ,
I am trying to remain calm and work hard like a Mexican worker.
Runnin this bitch , feel like i deserve a medal here ,
I am running things and feel like I deserve recognition for my efforts.
First placin it , wine wastin it ,
I am in first place and wasting my time celebrating.
With all due respect , I cant have you in the way of it ,
With all due respect, I cannot have you interfere with my success.
Competition , she in love , and anyway it go ,
We competed for her love, but no matter what happens,
I'm gon remember her , but still ,
I will remember her, but nevertheless,
My nature , its all love , that's how that shit be goin ,
It is in my personality to love, that's just how things are going.
She vying for number one , Tryna be number one ,
She is trying to be the best.
She tryna be number one , she tryna be number one , tryna be number ONE,!
She is determined to be the best and will stop at nothing to achieve her goal.
When you strive for perfection ,
When striving for perfection,
Desire get confused and you could lose your direction ,
The intense desire for perfection can lead to confusion and a loss of direction.
Contributed by Caroline M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Air Pegasus
That Classic Wale 🔥 🔥 1 Of His Best Songs
Split Personality
Right we need 11.1.11 theory as well that’s classic too before ambition
5ve
Wale is a huge inspiration to me and I WILL produce a song for him one day.
Channel 10,000 BC*
Greatest mixtape ever produced in the history of music
Dillian Stockman
THIS WALE IS COLD BLOODED STILL PLAYING IT IN MY CAR
Junior Mendoza
Yet we meet again!!! Man this shit hits the same!!!
Convict2ConvictTv
Congratulations on the album homie . You did it again
A BB
This intro still get me hyped
Karam Singh
I used to lift in high school to this 🔥🔥
AB CD
🔥🔥🔥🔥