Could Wale ever be considered the greatest emcee of all time?
Wale was one of the first rappers from the DMV region (DC, Maryland, Virginia) to break through to the mainstream during the late 2000s and 2010s. The Washington, DC, emcee was part of Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group, which, during its prime, was one of the most potent label crews in hip-hop.
His 2009 debut project, Attention Deficit, saw the lyricist collaborate with Gucci Mane, Pharrell Williams, and even Lady Gaga for his lead single, ‘Chillin’. Only a year before, Gaga had burst onto the scene with The Fame and was a newly famous megastar.
With features from some of the era’s most prominent musicians, Wale received vast exposure for Attention Deficit. The DC native then released his sophomore body of work, Ambition, in 2011, which saw even bigger hitters on the tracklist, including Meek Mill, Kid Cudi, and Big Sean, who featured on the Diplo-produced fan favourite ‘Slight Work’.
However, although Wale had relative success as part of Maybach Music Group (MMG) alongside rhymers like Meek Mill, French Montana, and Rick Ross, not many would consider him one of the greats, and for many, he wouldn’t even make it into their top 20.
As such, it was all the more strange when the Grammy-award-winning emcee insisted that he was one of the best rappers of all time. In 2021, “Top 50” lists began circulating on social media, and, as expected, heated debates started setting the internet alight.
In 2019, Chicago rapper Lil Durk posted his personal “Top 50,” which saw the likes of Lil Keed, G Herbo, and Lil Uzi Vert above Nipsey Hussle. Regarding MCs from the 1990s and 2000s, not even Jay-Z made it onto the list.
However, in 2021, when various lists began to appear, Wale insisted that he belonged near the top and wrote on social media, “When I say I’m one of the greatest rappers of all time. I mean it with all my heart. I’ve put out more QUALITY music than most. My deep cuts are crazy. My singles all got plaques. Decade plus. THAT is why I’m heavy on the gratitude.”
But not many people agreed with the rapper, and some got vicious, with one X user writing, “You just aren’t that likeable as a man & big league hip-hop is more about being liked by ppl than the quality or accolades your music has accrued.” However, another user backed him up, commenting, “So bc he doesn’t kiss ass and shake the “right” hands? Got it. Never mind that he has social anxiety and has spoken openly abt it.”
Although many believe he is not good, multiple important industry figures wrote their own lists and the DC native appeared on more than one. Hot 97.0’s Ebro Darden decided to handwrite a list, calling it “The Real Top 50,” where Wale ranked number 43. But the entire list could be considered controversial to some golden-age rap fans as it had J Cole and Kendrick Lamar above 2Pac and Rakim.
It’s impossible to win when these lists emerge but it could be true that Wale receives less respect than he deserves.