Today, Wale announces his 2024 Every Blue Moon Tour. Produced by Live Nation, the 32-city tour kicks off on September 19 at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale, making stops in Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and more before wrapping up in Birmingham at Iron City on November 7. Alongside covering the classics from his catalog, Wale will perform new music from his upcoming as yet to be announced 8th album, due out on Def Jam Recordings this fall. 2024 also marks the 15th anniversary of his debut album Attention Deficit (2009), which spawned his breakout of music’s most exciting new stars.
Tickets will be available starting with artist presales beginning Tuesday, August 13th. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale beginning Friday, August 16th at 10am local time at LiveNation.com.
Few rap artists have been as versatile for as long as Wale. Since unloading his breakout project, 2008’s A Mixtape About Nothing, the DC rhymer has helped permanently collapse the worlds of backpack rap and the Billboard Hot 100, packaging spurts of striking social commentary with braggadocious bars, Seinfeld-indebted irony, and anthemic tales of romance and aspiration. In the process, he earned Platinum and Gold plaques while establishing himself as the one of most accomplished MCs the DMV’s ever produced. And he’s still pushing forward with his newest album, Folarin II, a sequel to 2012’s fan-favorite mixtape Folarin. With its kaleidoscopic blend of fly-guy theme songs, infectious R&B collaborations, and genuine soul-searching, the record reaffirms his status as one of rap’s most innovative, exciting, and enduring curators. Before he had a legacy to contemplate, Wale was born and raised Olubowale Victor Akintimehin to Nigerian immigrant parents in Washington, D.C. After graduating from Quince Orchard High School in 2002, he attended Robert Morris University and Virginia State University on football scholarships before transferring to Bowie State University. Soon enough, though, he dropped out to pursue a rap career, with “Dig Dug (Shake It)”—a playfully confident introductory tune inspired by his hometown’s go-go movement—becoming his first local hit immediately upon its release in 2006. That same year, he was featured in The Source’s Unsigned Hype Column.
After a trio of mixtapes—Paint a Picture, Hate Is the New Love, 100 Miles & Running—Wale consummated his rise with 2008’s A Mixtape About Nothing, a project inspired by his favorite TV series, Seinfeld. For that project, the then-ascendant rhymer spit over go-go-inspired beats as he tackled subjects like fashion, the rap game, everyday racism, and domestic abuse with his now-signature blend of nuance, critical thought, and machismo. In an era where rap subgenres were debated and more obviously stratified, Wale’s style was disruptively inclusive. Naturally, compromising his subject matter was never an option. “My goal was just to be successful and stay true to what I want to do,” he says. Wale has made good on that for a decade and a half.By the time he released his major-label debut album, 2009’s Attention Deficit, Wale was named a member of XXL’s prestigious Freshman Class, and his status as one of hip-hop’s premier rising artists had crystallized. In the intervening years, he transitioned from a promising up-and-comer to a venerable rap star. After aligning with Rick Ross and Maybach Music Group in 2011, Wale released Ambition, a sophomore LP coated in reflective rhymes and bars meant to inspire. It also includes the glittering ballad, “Lotus Flower Bomb,” a track that’s since been certified Platinum. Between 2012 and 2020, he continued fortifying his catalog with albums like The Gifted (2013), The Album About Nothing (2015), Shine (2017), and Wow…That’s Crazy (2019). During this period, he collected a Platinum plaque for “My P.Y.T.”; Gold for Ambition and The Gifted, and his Rick Ross and Jeremih-assisted single “That Way;” and more accolades. His last album, Folarin II (2019), spawned hits like “Poke It Out” with J Cole before he left Warner Records and took some time away from music.
He re-emerged in 2023 with a new deal at Def Jam, a feature on Odumodublvck’s “Blood On The Dance Floor” which went #1 in Nigeria for 8 weeks, a headline show at the Kennedy Center in DC for the first time to celebrate the 10th year anniversary of his album The Gifted, and his first Diamond record for the legendary Waka Flocka collaboration “No Hands . In 2024, he’s been putting the finishing touches on his 8th album, and readying fans old and new for his next chapter as one of hip hop’s greatest writers.
EVERY BLUE MOON TOUR 2024 DATES:
Thu Sep 19 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Revolution Live
Fri Sep 20 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live
Mon Sep 23 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall
Wed Sep 25 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
Fri Sep 27 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
Sat Sep 28 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz
Sun Sep 29 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
Tue Oct 01 – Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian Theatre
Thu Oct 03 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
Fri Oct 04 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
Sat Oct 05 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
Mon Oct 07 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues Cleveland
Tue Oct 08 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
Thu Oct 10 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall
Fri Oct 11 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues Chicago
Sat Oct 12 – Minneapolis, MN – Uptown Theater
Mon Oct 14 – Denver, CO – Summit
Tue Oct 15 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
Fri Oct 18 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
Sat Oct 19 – Seattle Washington – Neptune Theatre
Sun Oct 20 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
Wed Oct 23 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
Fri Oct 25 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
Sat Oct 26 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park
Sun Oct 27 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
Tue Oct 29 – San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theatre
Thu Oct 31 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues Dallas
Fri Nov 01 – Austin, TX – Emo’s Austin
Sat Nov 02 – Houston, TX – House of Blues Houston
Tue Nov 05 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues New Orleans
Wed Nov 06 – Mobile, AL – Soul Kitchen Music Hall
Thu Nov 07 – Birmingham, AL – Iron City
