Deep Down, You Know Wale Doesn’t Have a Chris Cooley Tattoo (But He Never Denies Having One …).

Our Ashley Hall caught up with Wale last week before his performance at the TLA. They talked about everything from twitter and football, to Seinfeld and go-go music.

Would you say that twitter allows you to connect with your fans further?

I mean absolutely, it’s the new version of fan mail. Unfortunately, it has its ups and downs.

It seems like your haters get a lot of attention on your twitter. Why is that?

I do it a lot. I just give them who I am, ya know? I take twitter literally a lot. Like, if somebody says explicit shit about you in real life, I’m gonna say something. You know what I’m sayin? I’m gonna have my reply. If somebody does it on a social network, I’m gonna take it the same way. I’m challenging you to be as real as you are in person as you are on social networks. In all facets of that. Like, if you a real fan, I expect you to buy an album. I say I’m a real rapper and I say I’m gonna drop free records every week cause I think that’s what you deserve. I am being real to the person that I am.

I heard when you hit 1 million followers you are going to release 11 new songs?

It may be more the way I am working.

How long have you been holding on to some of those songs?

I’m still recording. I’m always recording. That 11, when I made that initial statement, they aren’t the same 11 songs that were on there. They got better. Some don’t fit in the scheme of it, so it depends on when I do it. But the day I hit a million, you can expect a mixtape the next day.

We hear you’re a big fan of the Washington Redskins. Do they really have a shot at the NFC east?

We optimistic. Let’s keep it that way.

It’s been rumored you have a tattoo of tight-end Chris Cooley. Is that true?

Where do you all get that? Cause I got people that believe it, and that is why stuff like that, you gotta look at the question. Why would a grown man? It’s all good but that is perpetuating the dedication of some of my enthusiastic antagonists. I think deep down inside you know I don’t have a Chris Cooley tattoo.

How did you get the influence from Seinfeld for “Mixtape About Nothing”?

I admire the normalcy in everything. I think the characters were so normal in there. It’s almost an art to emulate a normal life and still make it funny. Larry David is a genius for that. In a perfect world, I’d be able to recreate Seinfeld in an urban environment and make the jokes and dry humor hit the same nerves, ya know? I just think to make normal events extremely funny is a gift and that’s the beauty in it.

Who has been your favorite artist to collaborate with?

I think every one is different. It’s a different vibe. I definitely enjoy making records with Meek Mill. The records come super fast. Curren$y, J Cole a lot of those guys that I really kick it with on homie shit.

I hear go-go music has helped to inspire a lot of your tracks. How would you explain that?

Sonically, we love to use the drums. Ninety percent  of the known producers that send me beats always try to emulate our sounds. The call and response, the energy – they are more indirect influences than direct influences.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: the day after the interview and concert, Wale and Meek took 23 lady friends to the Pearl Theater to see a movie. No word on what they saw).

– Photos by Rick Kauffman.