When we were doing a roundtable dialogue about the state of hip-hop back in May, my friend and co-conspirator Gautham got me turned on to Wale, a D.C.-based rapper. More out of local pride than anything else, I rooted for the dude, liked "
Nike Boots" a bunch, but not so much "
Chillin'," which was supposed to be his big single with Lady Gaga. Better than both is "TV In the Radio," Wale's collaboration with K'Naan, a fantastic Somali rapper Gautham also introduced me to:
All of K'Naan's stuff is really, really excellent. I'm glad Wale's working with someone who's raising his game.