21 on the Billboard album chart with sales of 28,000 copies. The album, though, became one of the few setbacks Wale has experienced. Wale continued to crank out mixtapes - three critically acclaimed ones - before the November 2009 release of his first album, Attention Deficit. He followed up that song in fall 2006 with another single, вЂњUptown Roamers,вЂќ which got airplay on XM Radio and was included on WaleвЂ™s second mixtape, Hate Is The New Love.Д«y then, Wale had been discovered by super-producer Mark Ronson (known for his work with the late Amy Winehouse and Christina Aguilera, among others), and in 2008 this alliance paid off with a joint record deal with RonsonвЂ™s Allido Records and major label Interscope Records. So far, Wale has done a good job of achieving that overriding goal, as his career has, for the most part, been on a steady upswing.Д«ased out of Washington, D.C., Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, 28, made waves initially on the vibrant local scene in 2006 with a single, вЂњDig Dug (Shake It).вЂќ It became the most requested song by a local artist in Washington, D.C., radio history and was featured on WaleвЂ™s first mixtape, Paint a Picture. вЂњThereвЂ™s a bit of competitiveness in me that makes me always want to challenge myself and do better than my last one,вЂќ he says. He wants to improve musically with each album as well. As Wale sees things, itвЂ™s part of his nature to always want to outdo himself, and that doesnвЂ™t stop with album sales and commercial success. 1 on Billboard magazineвЂ™s album chart upon its release in late June.

The Gifted certainly took a step in that direction for Wale (pronounced wah-lay), debuting at No. вЂњI guess thatвЂ™s what success is, doing better than the previous, or equally as well as the previous, album.вЂќ

вЂњThatвЂ™s my biggest, like my spiel, is doing better than my last album,вЂќ Wale says. He named his second album Ambition, after all.ДЄnd on his recently released third CD, The Gifted, he touches on the subject on the more-or-less title song, вЂњThe Curse Of The Gifted,вЂќ saying, вЂњSuccess is like a never-ending battleвЂќ and вЂњto top all of my last shit is all that I ask of.вЂќ Rapper Wale has never made a secret of his desire to have each of his albums outsell the others and attain major popularity.

Wale the gifted songs