Editorial: Support DMV Hip-Hop!

There has never been a more crucial moment in the long history of hip hop music in the Washington, DC area. For the first time in a long time, a hip hop artist from DC is dropping a major label release. Wale’s “Attention Deficit,” hits stores on November 10th. For those of you DMV hip hop heads who for whatever reason, intend NOT to support Wale, please hear me out.

This post has been written stolen from Mr. Wise, a good friend of PDS and a member of Team Demolition. Everything he says I co-sign one hundred percent. That’s my word if I have to get on some dumb blogger ish and video myself buying the album I will. Read the rest after the jump, and check out Mr. Wise on the net.

I hate the fact that hip hop music is so regionally identified. It is one of the many things I don’t like about hip hop. It seems that “where an artist is from” is the first question anyone asks when they hear something new. The world has become so small thanks to our new abilities to communicate with one another. Yet in hip hop, we want to group people by neighborhood. This practice is outdated but it is the reality and because of that, we now have an artist, Wale, who has been given the burden of seemingly carrying an entire city and region on his back.  It is not fair but it is what it is. Imagine for a moment, you are in a pitch black room. You cannot see a thing except for small little lights appearing and vanishing. Each of these lights looks like something on a christmas tree. They are not powerful enough to cast any glow on the rest of the room. You are still blind. Suddenly, a 60 watt light bulb ignites. It’s so bright it draws all your attention, but then you realize that it’s light has now made everything else in the room visible. You had no idea of the wonderful contents in the room, but now you can see them. The room is the DC hip hop scene, the 60 watt bulb is Wale, and the little lights are all those who came before him.

Over the past year, I have heard a ton of jealous and flat-out hateful garbage being spewed by DMV residents towards Wale. Everybody from so-called fans, to artists, to even local radio personalities. I don’t know what personal vendetta any of them have against Wale, but this self-serving ego-maniacal bullshit needs to stop right now. Maybe you don’t like his music or his style. Maybe you think YOU should be in his place. Maybe you think he doesn’t show love to DC (which is utterly ridiculous.) Whatever you feel about Wale personally is irrelevant. Wale is his own man with his own artistry who is going to do what he wants. But he also bears the burden of being a proxy for all of those talented artists who came before him who never got a shot, and all of those who have been sitting in the darkness hoping for a chance. LIke it or not, he is the DMV’s light bulb. It makes absolutely no sense for anyone who has been sitting in the dark with him to try to dim his brightness in any way. The entire room may be visible thanks to that light. Make it brighter! Buy his album!

In addition, I am proud to say that my DMV based production company, Team Demo, produced the street single, “Crime Wave”  for 50 Cent’s new album, “Before I self-Destruct.”  The album is available on itunes now and in stores on November 16th.  The better this album does, the more attention we get.  Which means more attention to the many DMV artists we produce.  Please support us in adding another small light to Wale’s glow!

The time is now everybody.   There are a dozen or so super talented artists from the DMV that are ready for deals and opportunities RIGHT NOW!  Help make the light that is illuminating the room even brighter and before you know it, we all may need sunglasses.