True Endeavors Presents: music, tours, tickets, mp3 downloads, concert pictures, videos, Madison WI.

Madison, meet Wale!   This fresh face is making big waves in the hip hop scene, and we’re so excited to present him to a local crowd in just a few short days.  The A.V. Club calls his tunes “pop music with integrity and brains,” and Prefix magazine remarks that “Wale’s mesmeric talent–the left-field punchlines, the charmingly laid-back flows, the nakedly emotional storytelling–is enhanced by lively beats that juggle eclectic synth-pop with throwback soul.”

Read on to grab a free MP3 download and enter to win a pair of tickets to see this talented artist when he plays Madison’s Orpheum Theatre on October 3!

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Monday, October 3, 2011

True Endeavors and Frank Productions present

WALE with special guest BLACK COBAIN plus TEF MAN, SMOKES, ROMEY, TRE MONEY and DJ PAIN 1

Orpheum Theater – 8pm – $18 ADV $22 DOS – All Ages

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BIOGRAPHY (from allmusic.com):

The self-proclaimed “Ambassador of Rap for the Capital,” Wale (pronounced “wah-lay”) was able to transcend his local sensation status and become a national rap contender using go-go-inspired hip-hop as the vehicle for his clever wordplay and music. Olubowale Victor Akintimehin was born in Washington, D.C., in 1984 to Nigerian immigrants who first arrived to America five years prior. Although the family moved to Maryland at age ten, Wale was mostly raised in suburban D.C. He attended both Robert Morris College and Virginia State University on football scholarships, eventually transferring a third time to Bowie State. The music bug had already bit him hard, though, and soon he quit college altogether to turn towards a recording career.

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FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD:  Wale – “Let’s Chill”

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Wale got his first airplay circa 2003-2004 with “Rhyme of the Century,” thanks to the help of a local radio DJ who believed in his potential. This landed him in the “Unsigned Hype” column in Source Magazine the following year. In 2006, Wale signed with the local start-up imprint Studio 43, owned by a former VP of Roc-a-Fella Records, and enjoyed a string of hits in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area that year. Many of those records sampled from ’80s go-go — a more raw, percussion-driven offshoot of disco originating in D.C. — like the popular “Dig Dug,” a tribute to Ronald “Dig Dug” Dixon of go-go band the Northeast Groovers. Smart use of the Internet and MySpace was also a big factor in his success, as it helped British über-producer and DJ Mark Ronson (known for his work with Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera, and Rhymefest) catch wind of the go-go MC in 2007.

Wale struck a production deal with Ronson’s own imprint, Allido, and released the 100 Miles and Running mixtape that summer. Despite not being signed to a major label, he was met with a good deal of positive press, ranging from XXL magazine to The New York Times. After a bidding war that included offers from Epic, Atlantic, and Def Jam, Interscope finally grabbed Wale for its roster in early 2008. The full-length Attention Deficit followed in 2009.

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WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS:   With Wale’s song “The Guilty Pleasure” in mind, we want you to tell us about at least one of yours (musical, or otherwise)!  Post your guilty pleasures in the comments section below by tomorrow (Saturday, October 1, 2011) at 6pm.  A winner will be chosen and notified shortly thereafter.  Good luck!

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Related Content: Tuesday’s Live Concert Photos: K’Naan

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