Wale + AZ's Chillin'

So D.C.'s self-proclaimed hip-hop king Wale performed at my school on Saturday and despite not expecting much, I was pleasantly surprised. Wale was backed by local go-go band UCB, which made for a much more engaging and interesting live show than I would have expected. In case you don't know what go-go music is, it's a style of funk that originated in D.C. in the 1970s. Admittedly I'm no expert, but I like what I've heard and Wikipedia tells me I should check out Chuck Brown. Anyway, Wale ran through classics both new and old, including his remix of Justice's "D.A.N.C.E.," "W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.," as well as "Mirrors," "90210," and "Pretty Girls" from his new album Attention Deficit. Luckily, after a set filled with some always necessary "I'm the greatest" stage banter and a brief jam of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Wale ended with his claim to fame and one of the best singles of the year, "Chillin'." Overall, the performance was one of the better school sponsored events that I've seen and despite the fact that Wale continuously berated the crowd for not knowing the words as well as U.V.A., he managed to get everyone's hands in the air and entertain.




Speaking of "Chillin'," though I always knew Wale had a penchant for borrowing lines from his hip-hop influences, but I never realized the hook to "Chillin'" is in fact an homage to Brooklyn rapper and Nas collaborator AZ's track "AZ's Chillin'" from his album A.W.O.L. Hearing the track yesterday served as a kind of "why the fuck haven't you looked into AZ?" moment for me, so I'm definitely gonna have to check out more of his stuff.



I just got Wale's Attention Deficit and I'm really digging it so far, there might be a post about it on the way. Until then, enjoy some of the tunes I linked for you guys.

Wale- W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E. from 100 Miles & Running

Wale- Chillin' (The Knocks Remix)