Wale Names His Favorite Rappers Ever

August 19, 2025 326 67 5

Wale recently named his favorite rappers ever. On Monday, the Grammy-nominated rapper and his longtime manager, Kazz Laidlaw sat down for an invite-only conversation at Soho Works in Brooklyn as part of the PLLRS series, presented by Little Engine Media. Towards the end of the conversation, host Keith Nelson Jr. asked Wale to name his Hip-Hop Mt. Rushmore.

Wale rattled off an impressive list of his favorite emcees.

“Mt. Rushmore is a racist thing…” Wale began, before adding, “But…my favorite rappers? [Jay-Z]. Black Thought. Lil Wayne. [J. Cole].” And he goes on to list Queens rapper AZ as someone “super important.”

Moderated by Nelson Jr., the discussion was one of Wale’s first in-person chats of the year and offered a glimpse into Wale’s artistry and the strategic decisions that have shaped his hip-hop career. PLLRS is described as “a curated conversation series that spotlights the untold stories behind success, the stars, and the strategic minds who elevate them.”

While Wale didn’t give a release date for it, it’s clear his fans are eagerly awaiting his upcoming eighth studio album. Last fall, he embarked on his Every Blue Moon Tour, which only helped generate buzz. The tour kicked off in September in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and included stops in major cities across North America, concluding in Birmingham, AL. last November.

He dropped the single “Where To Start” back in June.