Before his open confession two weeks back that he, indeed, longed to visit his homeland Nigeria but for lack of financial will by his parents, many had concluded that the 29 years old was bedeviled with the White mentality and may never visit Nigeria.
But many did not know that a 2006 recording deal actually saved Wale's family from rotting in poverty perpetually. The rapper himself stated publicly during his visit that 'I grew up poor', adding that 'though I had longed to visit Nigeria with my parents since I was 15, little could we do with a $20,000 annual income from which you had to pick every bill including paying high school fees, and things were really very tight...
Wale's poor parents moved in 1979 from Austria to the US in search of greener pastures.
Born Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, Wale who is now signed on rapper Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group did make his opening fortune when he met producer Mark Ronson who in 2007 signed him on Allido Records. He was later signed for a $1.3 million deal on Interscope Records.
He made his first signature with 'Dig Dug (Shake It) in 2006.
'Attention Deficit', Wale's debut album, did not make much impact but luckily was nudged by three successive singles; 'Chillin', 'Pretty Girls' and 'World Tour'.
Indeed, it was a sweet homecoming for an homeboy.
No comments:
Post a Comment