Wale's career is in a a funk. There's no other way to put it.
He's still with MMG, but he recently parted ways with Atlantic and no longer has a major label deal. This came after his 2017 album Shine stumbled out of the gate with a 28K first week and never got higher than 16 on the Billboard 200. His previous two albums, 2013's Gifted and 2015's The Album About Nothing, both opened at number 1.
On Twitter, Wale suggested that part of his problem is the color of his skin.
Do you think your expressive passion for the music hurt/prevent you from being mentioned with the rest in your class? @Wale
— Mayneo.... (@Realeec) May 3, 2018
It hurt me greatly . Also me being a dark skinned (not half white) rapper direct decent from Africa did too .. but let’s not go there 🙃 https://t.co/L0V4NQFfpg
— Wale (@Wale) May 3, 2018
Wale was born in DC to recent Nigerian immigrants, and Drake, J. Cole and Logic are half white rappers who are killing the game right now.
What do you think? Do Wale and other dark skinned rappers suffer from colorism?