Wale has emerged out of hip-hop’s so-called “blog era” as one of its more durable acts. The DMV native burst on the scene with two strong mixtapes, 2007’s 100 Miles & Running and 2008’s The Mixtape About Nothing. The rapper debuted with the unusually undershipped Attention Deficit on Mark Ronson’s label, but he would rebound in a major way with Ambition (2011), The Gifted (2013), and The Album About Nothing (2015). Last year’s Everything Is a Lot inspires this tour with St. Louis’ Smino, who deploys a self-described “ratchet romance,” an unmatched mix of smart bars with an R&B feel. – Kahron Spearman
