When most musicians become famous, it is common for them to lose touch with their culture, family and become obsessed with making money. Many come in with a certain singing or rapping style, but change what makes them unique for a record deal. In the hip-hop scene rappers start dressing in many expensive designer clothing labels and diamond accessories, however, for Nigerian-American hip-hop MC Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, stage name Wale, this is a different story. Unlike many rappers, Wale is noteworthy and respected for the exact opposite: he embraces his culture and is interested in becoming famous simply for being himself. Wale was born in Northwest Washington, D.C., on September 21, 1984 to Nigerian immigrants who first arrived five years ago. previous. After 10 years, their family moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland, where Wale found himself attending seven different high schools in both the Washington area and Maryland. "My first high school was a predominantly black school, [and] then I went to a predominantly white school, and then back again. I think that helped me cultivate an open mind about most things in life... I kind of understand the plight of all people, from understanding all those different environments,” he says in his bio on his official website www.ralphfolarin.com. In 2001, Wale graduated from Quince Orchard High School and later attended Robert Morris and Virginia State University on football scholarships. However, after transferring to Bowie State University for the third time, Wale decided to drop out and aspire to embark on a journey towards a potential recording career. In 2003-2004, Wale got his first airplay appearance with his song, "Rhyme of the Century", on a local radio station which placed him in the "Unsigned Hype" column...in the center of the paper... a magazine-says-it-loves-beautiful-dark-skinned-girls-0http://dimewars. com/Video/Wale-Talks-Nigerian-Pride---Fear-Of-Lightskinned-Girls.aspx?bcmediaid=2d817e9c-5618-42a5-9f65-e7402c28b65chttp://www.jprotege.com/wale-nigerian-day- parade/http://www.getmusic.com.au/wale/biographyhttp://questionmarkmag.com/2011/08/wale-works-with-african-artistes-for-charity-gig/http://www. rap-up.com/2009/08/08/wales-attention-gets-sidetracked/http://afrofusionlounge.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/bunny-mack-interview-no-qualms-about-wales- sample of his classic song/http://killerboombox.com/6485/audio/heaters/wale-no-one-be-like-youhttp://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm? ID=788http://www.census.gov/population/international/http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/ sub-saharan africa/nigeria?profile=intRelations&pg=4