Kim & Kanye are officially over it seems like rumors of an unlikely new beau emerge, Wale is ready to roll out in 2022, King Richard melts hearts in theatres while movie fans are hyped for the anticipated release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” just in time for Christmas. Entertainment Report Kim & Kanye West […]
2021 has been kind to Wale and deservedly so. The Uproxx cover star dropped his seventh studio album, Folarin II, last month and even declared himself as “one of the greatest of all time.” Ego-stroking aside, the DMV icon has stayed firmly in the limelight, headlining Afropunk festival in Atlanta in September and then bringing out the elusive Q-Tip at Rolling Loud in New York to perform “Poke It Out.”
Now Wale, who has been very vocal about how much he cares about performing live, has announced his full Under A Blue Moon Tour. The tour gets going next January in Nashville and continues on through March.
Check out the full tour dates below and tickets are on sale now. Get them here.
01/12/2022 — Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
01/13/2022 — Chattanooga, TN @ The Signal
01/15/2022 — Huntsville, AL @ Mars Music Hall
01/16/2022 — Birmingham, AL @ Iron City
01/17/2022 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
01/18/2022 — Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
01/20/2022 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
01/21/2022 — Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live
01/23/2022 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
01/24/2022 — New York, NY @ Webster Hall
01/25/2022 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues
01/28/2022 — Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
01/29/2022 — Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
01/30/2022 — Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room @ Old National
01/31/2022 — Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
02/02/2022 — Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
02/03/2022 — St Louis, MO @ The Pageant
02/06/2022 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
02/08/2022 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox Market
02/10/2022 — Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
02/15/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
02/16/2022 — San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
02/17/2022 — Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren
02/19/2022 — San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theater
02/21/2022 — Dallas, TX @ HOB Dallas
02/24/2022 — New Orleans, LA @ The Fillmore
02/25/2022 — Mobile, AL @ Soul Kitchen
02/26/2022 — Jackson, MS @ Hal & Mal’s
03/01/2022 — Little Rock, AR @ Little Rock Hall
03/02/2022 — Memphis, TN @ Cannon Center
Folarin II is out now via MMG/Warner Records.
Wale is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
While some rappers have taken to posting anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and spoken out against mask mandates over the past several months, others have been taking the COVID-19 pandemic more seriously… especially those who’ve actually felt the virus’ effects. During his recent visit to The Breakfast Club in New York, DC rapper Wale detailed his own scary experience with the virus — and its lasting effects on his health, even after he was sufficiently recovered to go home from the hospital.
“That sh*t feel like you don’t got no control over nothing,” he recalled. “I remember when I was in denial, I was like, ‘Yeah, I got COVID but I’m just gonna stay in the house’ and then it’s getting worse. I remember taking an Uber to the hospital ’cause I ain’t want to be dramatic. I’m like, ‘I can’t breathe’… I remember they was taking my blood, and the lady couldn’t find my veins and all this other stuff. I just remember I passed out from just that alone. I was like ‘Wow, I was really just like, regular, three days ago,’ and I realized how serious it is.”
After he recovered, he said, he had to “beg them n****s to let me go home” because the isolation began to get to him. “Just being in there dolo, nobody can come in,” he explained. He also addressed the aftermath, saying, “One thing that people don’t talk enough about COVID is the after-effects. The main thing with me is the COVID fog. That sh*t is real … It feels like you smoked too much. For me, because I have legitimate issues with anxiety and stuff, everything was heightened.”
You can watch Wale’s full interview with The Breakfast Club above.
While he spent more than a decade under Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group, Wale, who just released his Folarin II album, has called a few other labels home throughout his career. This includes Interscope, Atlantic, and Warner Records, where he resides today. Another place he called home at one point was Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, which served as his management team since 2009. However, during his 2013 What Dreams May Come Tour with fellow rapper and good friend J. Cole, Wale was pushed to leave Roc Nation after he came to a shocking realization during the string of shows, something he revealed during an appearance on the Drink Champs podcast.
“What happened was, I was in the Hov cycle for a long time,” he said on the podcast. “There was a time that I was on tour with J. Cole. At the time, I was opening for him. They said it was a co-headlining tour, but whatever, I was opening for him, and it was an elaborate stage and this that and the third.”
He continued, “And somebody in my circle told me, ‘You’re losing 5 grand every time you get on stage. Not only are you’re not breaking even, you’re losing money.’ Me, at that point in my life, I forget what city we was in but I was on the bus and I got an offer to do a tour with two other artists. And I wanted to go with Cole because that’s my brother and we just did the Hov tour.”
At this point, Wale knew a decision had to be made between staying or exiting the tour. “I could literally be hosting clubs and making this a night,” he noted. “I just had a meltdown for real and I remember whatever city I was in, there were three days left and I just quit the tour. I just quit.” Wale added, “If I was touring by myself, I could be bussin’ it crazy every night. So I kinda just had a meltdown and I didn’t know who to call, my lawyer or my accountant. The next day, called somebody there and they gave me this option or that option.”
Despite his frustrations, Wale maintains that it’s been nothing but love between him and Jay-Z since the touring incident. “It’s been all love ever since but I wasn’t privy to this f*ckin’ music industry sh*t,” Wale admitted. ” I just knew, this many people in the room, we can make something happen. Jay’s still my idol, still my favorite rapper. I still got all the love for all of them. I was just a little bit early in this sh*t though.”
You can watch the full Drink Champs video
An appearance from Q-Tip is a very rare thing these days, but Wale made one happen for the lucky fans attending his Rolling Loud set this weekend. As he graced the stage at the hip-hop fest, Q took the time to perform an oldie but classic song for fans, busting out the first single off his solo record, Amplified. “Vivrant Thing” was a chart hit for the rapper, and a remix also featured verses from Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes, but more recently, Wale sampled it for the song “Poke It Out” featuring J. Cole as part of his new album, Follarin II. Now, Tip has some new solo material on the way, but it’s always great to go back to the beginning. Check out a clip of Q-Tip’s performance below:
Wale brings out QTip at Rolling Loud to perform Vivrant Thing
pic.twitter.com/BGR8ppE45y
— Folarin 2 SZN (@WaleWeekly) October 29, 2021
As the last decade has seen a plethora of unexpected or untimely deaths in the hip-hop community, the call to give veterans their roses while they’re still here has been strong. That’s exactly what Wale has done by bringing the Tribe Called Quest legend out during his set. Regardless, the internet has certainly changed how hip-hop is perceived, and how it is consumed. In a recent interview with Uproxx for a cover story earlier this month, Wale said that the new shift toward recording everything on social media has changed public perception a lot. He cites his won accomplishments in his early career that rarely get recognized as an example.
“I don’t think a lot of people don’t know that me, Cole, and Pharrell opened for Jay-Z,” he said. “We did a whole college tour… A lot of people don’t know I opened for Jay before that, even in Europe… A lot of people don’t know I opened for Rihanna in Europe. Because there was no Snapchat. I wasn’t walking around with a cameraman for YouTube all day. It was a weird time… We got a little bit of the Mandela effect going on in this generation.” Read the full cover here, and check out Wale’s “Poke It Out” video above.
Carson, California-bred TDE rapper Reason has returned with a new EP, No More, No Less: Demo 1, which features appearances from Adé, Benny the Butcher, Doe Boy, Reason’s TDE label-mate Isaiah Rashad, and Wale. Reason calls the EP “a small collection of thoughts and moments that I’ve been asked for repeatedly” and explained that he released it because it was “something I wanted to give to y’all in the meantime” while he’s finishing a proper follow-up to his 2020 album, New Beginnings.
The three-song effort opens with “Left Hand” featuring Benny, Isaiah, and Wale, a block thumper that finds the three rappers trading verses over a variety of different beats. That’s followed by the hypnotic “Not For Me,” which reunites Adé and Wale and includes Benny, then the set concludes with the woozy, downtempo “12am In ATL,” which features Benny, Isaiah, and Doe Boy. Clocking in at nine minutes and 53 seconds in total, No More, No Less showcases Reason’s impressive wordplay by setting it alongside some of the most prolific and clever rappers in the game today.
The EP also helps set up Reason as part of the vanguard of the post-Kendrick TDE roster the label will have to get behind after a “weird time” for TDE in 2020. Along with Isaiah, Ray Vaughn, and Doechii, Reason is carrying the torch for the West Coast rap label as it evolves in the wake of Kendrick Lamar’s departure.
Listen to the EP below.
A little over a year after he released his debut album, New Beginnings, Reason is gearing up for a new release a new project. On Tuesday, the California-bred rapper revealed his next effort, No More, No Less: Demo 1, will arrive on October 29 and will feature appearances from Wale, Adé, Doe Boy, labelmates Isaiah Rashad and Zacari, as well as Griselda’s Benny The Butcher. Reason described the project as “a small collection of thoughts and moments that I’ve been asked for repeatedly,” adding that it’s “something I wanted to give to y’all in the meantime. Love y’all, and see you soon!”
Apologize to y’all for taking so long. Won’t happen again unless it’s purposeful.
— REASON TDE (@reasonTDE) October 25, 2021
After Reason announced the project, he apologized to fans on Twitter for making them wait for new music. “Apologize to y’all for taking so long,” he said. “Won’t happen again unless it’s purposeful.” Honestly, a year isn’t that long of a wait for a new project from artists. In fact, New Beginnings arrived two years after his previous project, There You Have It, which was released in late 2018.
Reason recently appeared in Isaiah Rashad’s music for “Chad” which features YGTUT and appears on Rashad’s album The House Is Burning.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
It’s going to be a great weekend with new music drops from D.C’s best Wale, Big Sean and — someone we haven’t heard from in years — Fetty Wap. Welcome Back, Fetty!! Fetty Wap dropped his new album The Butterfly Act. This is the first time Fetty has dropped new music since his last album […]
