Wale Talks Ambitious Plans for New Album and Celebrates at Album Release Party

By Courtney Connley

Tuesday was an ambitious day for rapper Wale. Hip hop’s newest sound dropped his second studio album Ambition and made his promotional rounds in D.C., stopping at several local radio stations and finally making his way over to a fan-packed shoe store, DTLR, in Largo, Maryland to meet fans face to face and sign autographs.

Fans waited in lines extended outside the shoe store to get an autographed album and a glimpse of the artist, who many of them saw grow from a local underground rapper to a nationally recognized hip hop star. Inside, tracks from Ambition blasted from the speakers as parents even waited in line to get a picture of their child with the rapper who may have officially put D.C. on the hip hop map.

Earlier in the day, Wale appeared on 106 & Park with surprise guest, Rick Ross, who explained that the two seizures he suffered last month was attributed to a lack of sleep. Still, Rick wasn’t the only guest Wale brought along with him. In the studio, were a bus load of kids from Anacostia High School in Southeast, D.C.

“Yea, it was dope,” the 27-year-old rapper told DC Fab! of the once-in-a-lifetime experience. “You know, some kids I’m all they got as far as somebody to look up to. So, I try to be as positive as I can.”

Born to Nigerian parents, Wale’s chosen career path wasn’t necessarily the ideal for his traditional family, but he says, “I never gave them a chance” to discourage him from his musical aspirations.

It’s a good thing he didn’t let his family’s hesitation stop him, especially after a lackluster debut album Attention: Deficit, which only sold 28,000 copies it’s first week. Ambition has received critical acclaim as a big step up for the rapper and is already number one of the iTunes charts. Wale’s first week sales are projected to reach the 190,000 mark.

“I wrote this album to stand the test of time,” Wale adds. “That’s the goal. I want people to love it. I want successors to love it. I want people from home to love it.”

Check out photos from his album release party at Opera on Tuesday night:

DJ Quicksilva was in the building

Washington Wizards John Wall showed his support too