Reppin' VA | pic: Artist's website

Here at the AltDaily camp we are consistently promoting local artists and encouraging our readers to get behind local acts as much, if not more, than we get behind national musicians.

And there’s good reason for that – I’m not apologizing – but there’s plenty of reason to shake your ass down to The NorVa or Ntelos and take in a show as well. It can be a tough decision at times, I’ll admit, to decide when it’s justified to blow off your favorite local band at The Boot in lieu a sold-out gig at The Virginia Beach Amphitheater. I know it’s hard, friends. It’s the age-old struggle of local loyalist versus music enthusiast. But I’m here to tell you there’s a better way. There’s a best-of-both-worlds compromise coming our way very soon: today, in fact.

Let me introduce you to Wale (pronounced Wah-lei, not Whale). OK, so Wale is not technically from The Seven Cities. He’s not even from Virginia, actually. Wale comes from our neighbors in The District. But there’s this thing I prefer over local pride; it’s called regionalism. It was Wale who introduced me to this concept, actually. On all of his fantastic mixtapes, he was prone to reppin’ “DMV”, which I learned was an acronym for DC, Maryland and Virginia (which made more sense than my early assumption that Wale worked for the Department of Motor Vehicles). It filled me with a sense of pride when I realized that this emcee who was poised to rule the world was reppin’ for VA. We don’t have a lot of hip hop acts doing that for us. I mean, we know The Neptunes are from our neck of the woods, but how often do they say it? Wale mentions us all the time.

But there’s more to it than an acronym. There’s a specific style that Wale brings that is very specific to our region. Young, hip rappers with broad musical tastes and fresh new styles are the flavor of the month, but the “where y’all from?” swagger is unique to the DMV’s crop of talent. If you don’t know what I’m talking about just listen to Wale, DC/Maryland’s Low Budget collective or Virginia’s own Rebel E and tell me you don’t feel right at home. As someone who is always looking for fresh new sounds from creative people, I’m more than happy to latch on to the regionalism and support artists like Wale in hopes that his hometown supports our up-and-coming talents. The hip hop scene just isn’t big enough to be insular, folks. Let’s show some love.

Another great reason to dish out money for tickets at The NorVa is Wale’s pure originality and talent. The kid is, for lack of a better term, dope! Wale rose to prominence in 2006 when his single “Dig Dug (Shake It)” blew up all over his hometown as well as Maryland and Virginia (see?). He followed up that success with a gang of mixtapes in 2007, signed with tastemaker Mark Ronson and became Fader Magazine’s muse for a few straight months. His unique style and constant recording/touring schedule gained him recognition from almost every music publication (as well as MTV and BET) before he had a proper record deal. Not bad for a local boy, right?

Things have changed for Wale these days. He’s signed to a major, hangs out with Jay-Z, and has a liquor sponsor. But he’s still reppin’ the DMV for all of us and I’m positive he’ll be bringing that hometown love and pride to The NorVa tonight. Let’s return the favor and show him some support, shall we? Let’s do it for local hip hop, regional pride and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Oh, and just in case you weren’t convinced, Wale played ball for Virginia State University and was the first straight rapper to agree to perform at DC Black Pride, an annual gay pride event (I know what AltDaily readers like). Alright, see you there.

Wale performs at The Norva on Wednesday, September 1 at 9 pm. Visit thenorva.com to find out more.