Wale Opens Up And The Internet Talks Back

Wale opened up on X about fame and emotional exhaustion on social media Monday. And admitted nearly two decades in the music industry may have altered the way he sees life. Do tell.

The Washington D.C. rapper gave fans a look into the psychological toll of navigating Hip-Hop. I think I can write a book on this myself. Anyway, he’s had to manage this in a different way – while trying to remain creative, provide for loved ones and determine who his friends are.

Wale began his message with an apology…here it is in full.

“Im sorry. I really apologize to ppl who pray and truly care about me… I genuinely believe u can’t be in this industry for more than a few years and have a proper lense on life. Your friends be dying left an right. You desperately wanna stay creative. U wanna take care of ur ppl. The new “friends” u make not ur friends at all … cuz this is a rat race on a hamster wheel. U wake up to praise and criticism … but it’s always more criticism. Unstable. So many ppl care and I can’t even embrace it sometimes cuz I’m in a perpetual state of uncertainty and skepticism.”

A confession and a warning? Seems like it.

Wale did not specify friends or anything specific that got. him “here.” The commenters were mostly supportive. Of course there were trolls and critics. Here’s one.

Questionable relationships have left him skeptical. Damn. Isn’t that life though? I’d imagine moguls, record labels, streaming numbers, fans, family and even social media can change things a bit for an aging star.

Here’s some of the love he got.

Wale has spent nearly 20 years in the business and has previously talked the music, the algorithm and social media. Last year on a “Million Dollaz Worth of Game,” he addressed his frustrations with social media noise. Yet, here we are.

Friends die. New people arrive. Compliments and criticism pour through the same phone. Somewhere inside that cycle an artist still has to determine who actually cares about the person underneath the career.

Oh, as promised, the post has been deleted.