For once I’m not posting Wale press right? LOL. Not gonna lie; I’m pretty excited about this. I’ve worked very hard for 2.5 years building up Wale and his brand and haven’t done much self-promoting along the way, so when I get a little recognition here and there, it feels good. URB was one of the first magazines to really fuck with Wale and almost a year later, it seems like they had a crystal ball; putting Wale and Justice on their 150th cover took some balls! It was my job (and Wale’s) to make them feel good about their decision. I will never forget driving from Vegas to LA the morning after the VMA’s to get Wale to the photoshoot on time and meeting Xavier and Gaspard (dudes from Justice) at Smashbox Studios in Culver City and them being so genuinely excited about Wale’s music (”other than Will Smith,” Xavier said, “Wale is the only rapper we want to work with.”) Anyway, so URB did this piece on music managers in their Power Issue, a few of whom I am friends with and somehow I ended up first on the list (yes! not that it means anything). So along with Corey Smyth (Talib Kweli), Gee Roberson (Kanye, Wayne), Ian Montone (MIA, White Stripes, Shins, Raconteurs, Vampire Weekend) and a few other managers I’m not familiar with, here I am mentioned because of Wale and Paper Route Recordz. Awesome! It’s really an honor to be mentioned amongst people I look up to, especially someone like Ian who has been somewhat of a mentor to me for the past year. Thanks URB!
And in case you can’t read what it says:
Certainly something of a newcomer, Weisman has quickly put DC’s Wale on the map (and URB’s 150th cover). He works on building the brand and not just setting up gigs, though he does that too (Elitaste note: with the help of Jesse K at Nue Agency). Alabama’s Paper Route Recordz is up next.
Album for album, no new artist except for maybe Kanye, has been as consistent as The Game. LAX is a classic in my opinion. “Angel” f. Common might be my favorite track. Go cop that shit!
This is hands down the best thing T-Pain has done for his career since discovering autotune. This kinda reminds me of Michael Jackson “Leave Me Alone” video from 1987 mixed with a little WALEDANCE.
Saw this at NahRight
Check it out HERE. Thanks to Simon Vozick-Levinson, a tremendous writer and a huge Wale fan.
Catchdubs hit me with an email today:
From: Catchdubs
Date: Sat, Aug 23, 2008 at 2:47 PM
Subject: 100 miles and running hoodie
To: Daniel Weisman
http://www.turntablelab.com/vinyl/217/1625/52514.html
wonder if the mixtape cover inspired the colorway? a bunch of people are doing black and teal this season. trendsettaaaaaa!
I am using this as a jumping off point for an open letter to Obey.
Dear Shepard Fairey,
I am a fan first and foremost so please don’t take this the wrong way. However, you and your brand Obey are, at this point, probably still “bigger” than Wale. All we ask for is some recognition if we in fact inspired this hoodie’s namesake and colorway. If it’s too late for recognition, a few size runs in the hoodie would be awesome. Maybe even like a limited edition Wale version with the lace logo on it? My contact info is on the site. Hope to hear from you soon.
Best,
Dan
elitaste.com
Virgin America is my favorite domestic airline; the prices are great, service is outstanding and amenities galore. Unfortunately they only have service in Vegas, LA, San Diego, Seattle, SF, DC-Dulles and JFK. With that said, Entourage season 5 debuts on on September 7. To celebrate, HBO has set it up so during the month of September, you get to enjoy free episodes of Entourage. In addition, if you book first class travel between NYC (JFK) and Las Vegas on Entourage Air, you get to fly like Vinny Chase with your very own pair of Bose noise-canceling headphones, a glass of signature champagne, Godiva truffles, Kiehl’s Since 1851 Perennial Favorites Travel Set, Altoids and a signature Entourage Air blanket and eye mask. Not too shabby
And don’t forget to tune in on Sunday, September 7th, at 10pm/9c for the Season Premiere of Entourage!
And remember when Wale’s song was on Season 4?
I got a mysterious box on the mail yesterday which ended up being a parcel from none other than Pusha T and Malice from The Clipse explaining the debut of their new clothing line, Play Clothes. I can already tell this is gonna be a smash; the attention to detail is great and their sticker game is on point. Peep the packaging, letter, etc.
“Swagger Like Us (SLU)”. Song is a little long in my opinion and the sample gets a little annoying. Also, I realized T.I.’s “Whatever You Like” is pretty much the same song as Lollipop in terms of melodies and sounds. Also I heard this song “You Got Me” by a group called One Block Radius today and I realized it was a total bite of The Roots “You Got Me” (the same name isn’t really coincidental). Not mad at the song though; chorus is fire, some of the verses are iffy.
