It’s moments like this past weekend’s “Live in the District” at Nationals Park that further cements Wale’s status as a statesman for the entire DMV. Midway through his supporting tour of recent critically-acclaimed LP everything is a lot, his appearance in DC with Smino during Juneteenth weekend is exactly what the city needed. Since the beginning of his ascension, the love that the rapper holds for the District of Columbia goes far past rocking a Nationals fitted and the inaugural sold-out event did not fail to exceed expectations.
At the very least, it’s hard not to meet them with the catalogue that Wale has. The “Belly” songwriter took his closing set and showed thousands of attendees what it looks like to blend your number-one records from the beginning of your career with the ones still dropping nearly two decades later (whomever chooses to go against him in a Verzuz is in for a rude awakening). What isn’t spoken enough about is the amount of representation that his discography provides for fans. It didn’t matter if it’s his chart-topping love songs, his introspective standouts for the introverts, or even his latest album cuts, Wale delivered a performance that made it hard for the crowd to not maintain their participation from start to finish.
Making it a true homecoming show, Folarin brought out an array of old and new friends from the region like Foggieraw, Alex Vaughn, and the legendary go-go band UCB, along with surprise appearances from Nino Paid, IDK., Lizzo, and more. If anything, “Live in the District” proves itself to be than two-day concert, but rather a full-circle celebration for the "Where to Start" songwriter and DC natives alike. Throughout the years, Wale has always found his way to give back to the city through his "Gifted Week" initiatives and multiple performances through the District of Columbia. With this new concert series, Wale goes beyond that by establishing a new platform for DMV music and culture to honor the hometown heroes that helped shape the Chocolate City while uplifting the rising stars of tomorrow.
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