Hottest Breakthrough MC finalist Diggy Simmons opened show at Highline Ballroom Monday night. By Jayson Rodriguez Wale (file) Photo: Alli Harvey/ Getty Images NEW YORK — If Wale is looking for a nickname, “Mr. Do It Yourself” might be appropriate. The Washington D.C. rapper released a new mixtape earlier this month called More About Nothing, the sequel to his breakout “Seinfeld”-inspired set, The Mixtape About Nothing. The set is meant to bolster his bona fides after a tepid response to his debut, Attention Deficit . Within days of releasing More About Nothing, the rapper announced a headlining set at Manhattan’s Highline Ballroom. And on Monday night, Wale was blue-collar in his rhymes and production. “Who got a camera,” he asked from the stage. He then proceeded to set up video shots from the sides of the stage. Elliott Wilson of RapRadar.com , which served as media sponsor for the show, recorded from the stage. “I don’t care,” Wale said about potential piracy. “It’s about y’all. We got the right angle, we got the left angle.” Wale delivered a rousing set, backed by a nine-piece band, infusing a go-go music sound along with his punchy rhymes. “Mirror, tell me I’m the realest,” he rapped over the bouncy “Mirrors.” “Since all these other n—as got gimmicks, not lyrics/ It’s all gun busting, it’s such a lack of the subject/ Could I be that n—a rejuvenating lovers?” Fabolous and J. Cole were in attendance during the set, and 2010 Hottest Breakthrough MC Top 5 finisher Diggy Simmons opened for Wale. J. Cole joined Wale onstage for their collaboration “Beautiful Bliss.” Cole then took over for a song as the upstart MC performed his latest underground number, “Blow Up.” Wale then took back the reins to perform one of his earlier breakout tracks, “Nike Boots.” “The revolution will proceed, unification of the DMV,” he rapped. “I will achieve, indeed, I decree/ I’m forming a new alliance/ Instead of one poising the minds, they lying/ I am only a fighter, in the form of a writer/ In the form of a poet, potency in the mic.” Were you at Wale’s show last night? Tell us what you thought of the performance in the comments! Related Artists Wale J. Cole
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Wale Joined Onstage By J. Cole In New York
