“DMV see yall Sunday” Wale posted on Twitter/X Thursday night. Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, better known as Wale, was born in Northwest, Washington, D.C. and raised in various parts of the DMV (graduating from Quince Orchard High School) will be performing at halftime of the Washington Commanders home opener against the New York Giants on Sunday.
Wale is a longtime fan of the Commanders, joining the ranks of many celebrities who support the team. His parents were both Nigeria and came from Austria to the United States in 1979. Wale’s family first lived in the Brightwood neighborhood of Northwest, Washington, DC and then moved to Montgomery County, MD when Wale was 10. In 2002, he graduated from Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, but also attended the Mark Twain School on Avery Rd in Rockville for part of high school before moving to Largo in Prince George’s County.
According to Apple Music, Wale dropped out of college to pursue music full-time, eventually landing a deal with producer Mark Ronson’s Allido Records in 2007 and Interscope Records a year later. A string of mixtapes found the rapper grappling with morality in both everyday life and early stardom—most notably on 2008’s Seinfeld-inspired The Mixtape About Nothing—and earned him a diehard fanbase ahead of his 2009 debut album, Attention Deficit. During his ascent amid the peak of hip-hop’s blog era, Wale offered catchy melodies and bars speckled with pop-culture references on songs like the Lady Gaga-featuring “Chillin” and Waka Flocka Flame’s 2010 club hit “No Hands”—and he could then pivot to reveal a more vulnerable, thoughtful side with vivid, prose-like lyrics. In 2011, Wale moved to Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group, adding a dually conscious and dance-ready vibe to an otherwise street-focused roster. But whatever label he’s on, Wale consistently produces multidimensional releases, steering clear of predictability with woman-praising, rap-meets-R&B ballads like the Miguel-assisted “Lotus Flower Bomb,” and “The Matrimony” alongside Usher. With richer sounds and more honest insights into mental-health and social issues (“Expectations,” “Love Me Nina / Semiautomatic,” “Sue Me”) on 2019’s Wow… That’s Crazy, Wale has continued to dig deeper—and encourage his fans to do the same.