Wale Folarin - Recently dropped his 'Attention Deficit' album on November 10.

The District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia form the triad that is locally known as the “DMV”. For the past twenty years, the DMV music scene has been filled with a distinct Go-Go sound. Although there are several different interpretations of what Go-Go is comprised of, common definitions include the sound of the conga’s infused with the upbeat banging of drums, the rhythmic keyboard sounds assisted by the harmonizing and singing of the lead singer or the strong intensity of the lead vocalist.

With the exception of the signing of a few Rhythm and Blues artists such as Mya, Ginuwine and most recently Raheem Devaughn and J. Holiday, the DMV was not known to have many breakout stand-alone artists. And until recently, it definitely wasn’t known for Hip-Hop. But, with the success of hip-hop acts like Tabi Bonney (Organized Rhyme) in 2006, the signing of Wale to Interscope Records in 2008 and the signing of Don Juan to Jive in 2009, many local artists are very eager to be the next breakthrough artist from the DMV area.

Tabi Bonney

Although many credit Tabi Bonney with putting the spotlight on the DMV hip-hop music scene, Wale has been the most successful of the three artists to date. Gaining worldwide attention after being signed to super producer Mark Ronson’s Allido label, Wale has been able to tour overseas, release critically acclaimed mixtapes, sign with Interscope/Roc Nation, perform with Go-Go band UCB as the MTV Video Music Award’s house band and most recently tour with rap superstar/mogul Jay-Z. Because of the signing of Wale and his global exposure, many local DMV artists look to his album’s success as a catalyst to the area’s success in relation to label exposure and future recording deals. Although it has not even been a week since Wale’s first full length album Attention Deficit hit stores nationwide, it is already receiving rave reviews by XXLMagazine, Rap-Up.com, Rollingstone.com and Amazon.com to name a few. This will definitely give high hopes to local hip-hop artists because they understand that the music industry looks at numbers in record sales and fan base. If Wale’s album does

Don Juan

exceptionally well by posting substantial figures in sales, it will help make DMV hip-hop artists be realized as marketable. This realization could inevitably lead to numerous local acts getting record deals possibly gaining nationwide and even global attention.

The most optimistic school of thoughts include the idea that the DMV could soon be compared to powerhouse hip-hop cities like Atlanta, New York and Miami for the amount of musical talent it possesses. That optimistic thought fuels the hope that leaves the fate of the DMV on native rapper Wale Folarin’s shoulders. Will Attention Deficit aid the DMV in gaining industry attention and mainstream success? Only time will tell.