Wale swung by Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club and kept it real, discussing matters concerning his most recent album, depression and labels in the entertainment industry.
The D.C. native, who recently spoke at The White House to discuss education with several students, dropped his latest project, The Album About Nothing, this past March. He spoke to Angela Yee, Charlamagne Tha God and DJ Envy Wednesday morning (Oct. 21) about the album’s reception, which he thinks could’ve been a lot better.
“It wasn’t pushed the right way,” he said of the Jerry Seinfeld-narrated LP. “If it was Kevin Hart, it would have been received a lot better. There’s been a lot of talk amongst the people in the industry that the album could’ve been something more special.” He continued to say that it’s “frustrating” to know that he’s hit a rough patch, however he’s hoping to attain his own definition of success one day.
“I can’t inspire nobody if I don’t believe what I’m saying, and I won’t believe what I’m saying unless I attain that level of success.” He’s on the right track – two new songs were released today, and he said his upcoming and untitled fifth album “won’t have the ‘Wale sound.'”
The 31-year-old lyricist also touched upon some of the most current topics in the news, such as Raven-Symone’s name-gate controversy.
“Come on, shawty! You were the last hope!” he said regarding The View co-host. “That’s a sensitive topic. There’s so much color shaming, body shaming going on online. I just want black people to care about black people more.” He also discussed how he believes it is an “advantage” to be gay in the industry.
“Frank Ocean is very dope – he got pushed to the moon when he released his album, all of these things happened for him,” he said. “Sam Smith is 100 percent talented, but “Stay With Me” sounds like [R&B singer] Tank. It’s a gay person that gets pushed to the moon.”
Wale has been very open about his struggles with depression, detailing his experiences with Billboard in March. The rapper took the opportunity to discuss this subject with the morning show hosts after being asked about the events leading up to the hospitalization of troubled basketball star Lamar Odom early last week.
“The thing about depression…some people really be crying for help. Nobody hears their cries, and then when something happens, everybody’s by their bedside crying coulda, shoulda, woulda,” he said.
Wale also spoke on the (D.R.A.M)a between Drake allegedly jacking D.R.A.M.’s “Cha Cha” for his own hit song, “Hotline Bling.”
“That would make me mad, but I get mad when TSA looks at me for too long! That was his [D.R.A.M] moment,” he said. “There’s really no silver lining, he [Drake] can get away with it.”
Peep Wale’s interview from earlier today below.