Wale Talks About How He Handled Depression By Abusing Drugs & Alcohol, Not Being Respected In The Industry, Why He Is So Angry & More

Wale is on a campaign tour to get everyone familiar with his album about nothing. No shade, that’s what the album is called, “The Album About Nothing”, which was released 3/31. He recently stopped and chatted with the people at Billboard, where he discussed going through a stage of depression. He says he took pills and drank all day to make him happy enough to talk to people. 

My confidence was shot, so I’d be taking whatever to keep me in a good mood, to get me in the right mood for an interview. I’m not going into the details as to what I was taking, but there’s definitely something for that. Just like there’s a fuckin’ app for everything, there’s a damn pill for everything. Or something you can pour in your glass. I was depressed not being where I wanna be in my career when I’ve put the work in. I wasn’t sleeping. I was drinking all day and I didn’t have anyone to go to. I couldn’t fight it. Those are some of the demons I talk about on the album.

He also went on to talk about his former girlfriend losing their child, not being respected in the industry, not having the best relationship with his parents, working harder than his label mate but not getting the credit and more.

On losing the child he was trying to conceive:

The girl I was with, we tried for a long time to have a child. And when she finally did [get pregnant], she miscarried at 10 or 11 weeks. I was visualizing my child’s face. We gave it a name and everything. All of that went away. And a couple of months before that, one of my closest friends died in a car accident, a cousin that was there for me through blood, sweat and tears. So I go through all that and I go online and some white kid is saying, “You dumb ni—r, you’ll never be as good as J. Cole.” You put all that together…

Why other people’s opinion’s of him are important:

I rely on the people’s opinions, because I don’t have much outside of that. I’m already on the side of Meek [Mill] and [Rick] Ross trying to squeeze in the picture. And I’m trying to keep a smile on my face. Imagine how you’d feel if someone who put in less work than you blew up? People say, “You’re such a bitch online.” That’s all I have — my opportunity to connect with you. I didn’t want to be the guy that everyone was like, “He’s got such a bad attitude.” But I’ve been through shit.

Was he saying that Meek Mill didn’t really work as hard as he has but has more fame? Would you agree?

On the relationship with his parents and not receiving their support the way he wanted:

All these rappers, they do songs about their mothers. I’m Nigerian — my mother didn’t encourage me to do this. Even when [my first album] Attention Deficit came out and I had kind of made it, most parents would have been like, “My baby did it!” but I don’t have that. My mom didn’t come to my [youth football league] games. I posted a football picture on Instagram the other day. That was my fuckin’ rec’ coach on my [high school] senior night. My mom didn’t come to that. I can’t even explain to my mom what my job entails. She just knows that all of her bills are going to be paid. I didn’t have one-on-ones with my mom or dad. I was in juvenile facilities a lot. My point is that I grew up with the outside world meaning the most to me. This is in hindsight — I’m trying to figure out why I’m this way

On what he learned from observing Kanye West in Paris:

How organized his shit is. He’s very organized and people listen. He has a staff that will listen to him. I have a staff whose mind tends to wander or they’ll act like I’m working for them. Even when Kim [Kardashian] is in there, things are centered around the breadwinner and creator. And he has the same thing as me, where he tries to make sure he’s not offending anybody. That’s something I recognized. He’ll say something and then follow it up with, “You know, I wasn’t trying to…” And the person will say, “It’s all good!’ I’m like that too. I want to make sure I don’t offend anyone. In this industry, you can be so offensive to somebody and not even know it, like, “Bruh, I could’ve sworn that I kissed every baby in here.”

On if his new album will get him the respect he is seeking:

I gave this my all. I’m not trying to whine about being critically acclaimed or getting in the door, but it breaks my heart. Everyone says, “Be patient. It’ll happen.” But all signs are showing, “No, it won’t happen.” I’m okay with people not liking my music but provide an intelligent reason for why you like or don’t like something or you’re a hater or a dick-rider. This is my fourth album. I want some respect. I want to go to a party and not have Katy Perry tell her security to move me out of the fuckin’ way. We do the same thing. I know there’s no union in the music industry, but have some respect.  I want people to be like, “Your album’s just as good as Kendrick [Lamar]’s or Esperanza Spalding or Beck.” I work just as hard as them.

Damn, this is a very honest and vulnerable side of Wale. A lot of people to say he is an asshole, but like he said, he has a reason. He is busting his ass to do what he loves, but because his music is more on the poetry or story telling side, he gets less respect.

I definitely respect his hustle and him more now as a person. I like his music personally. Once I heard “Nike Boots” back in 07/08, I didn’t know who he was then, but I knew he had something. Wale don’t let these squares knock you off your circle, and never let anyone feel they do not have to respect you. If that means they call you a bitch…sobeit….but they will respect you.

Maybe he needs to have talk with “The Boss” about his career and where he is trying to get it. I honestly haven’t seen Rick Ross promoting Wale outside of this album now. Meek seems to be his right hand. Could favoritism be why Meek gets better promo? Or is it that he is not rapping about guns and moving bricks in his music?

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