202 Beat Drops: Wah-lay's Inevitable Arrival

Tonight: Wale & UCB, Tabi Bonney and co @ 9:30 Club

After rocking a series of road shows Rock the Vote Nights's pilot show, Concert of America's Future Now, brings Wale back home. Washington Post did an excellent write up on DC hip hop's best bet to breakout,

If the buzz surrounding Wale seems as if it's been building forever, that's because it has. Two years ago -- an eternity in the digital music era -- a Post headline dubbed the Bowie-based rapper who is bidding to become the region's first national star "The Great Rap Hope."

Without an official album, Wale's buzz took off due to a savvy internet presence, an assortment of critically acclaimed free mixtapes and being well received by fellow hip hop artists. This enabled Wale to sign a deal with Interscope, ink a management deal with Jay Z's Roc Nation, hang out with Capitals' Alex Ovechkin and become the face of DC hip hop.

If I'm the breakout, I'm sure there'll be somebody after me that'll be bigger than me. All I can do is take what comes with being the first: the love and the hate, the skepticism and things of that nature. I try to take it all in. But I'm not telling nobody that I'm the best rapper in D.C. Not at all. There's so many talented musicians in D.C. I'm just representing them.

Even with all the hoopla, Wale remains Chillin'.

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More to come on Campaign for America's Future....