There’s been a cold war brewing between Meek Mill and Wale for quite. For those attached to social media, the rift between both of them actually started last year. Mill alleged that Wale wasn’t doing enough to support his then upcoming album Dreams Worth More Than Money (before being incarcerated and push backs)in a series of tweets. Of course the DMV native defended himself before the issues between them were squashed quickly. Fast forward to current events, and Mill and Wale are making more social media exchanges after Wale commented on the Philly native’s defeat at the hands of Drake during an interview with The Breakfast Club. Initially seen as an emotional reaction on social media, the controversy gives a deeper look into the inner relationships of Maybach Music Group and the label’s overall status. With that in mind, Features Editor Andre Grant and Senior Features Writer Ural Garrett look into the current status of MMG.
Should Wale Have Said What He Said?
Ural: One of the most interesting points about Meek Mill’s emotional outburst involved him mentioning Rick Ross possibly not paying artists and Wale being kicked out of MMG. Rozay has to be sweating bullets at the moment. Looking into this year, Wale’s album tanked, Gunplay’s debut didn’t even dent the charts, Stalley’s been fairly silent and Mill got embarrassed by Drake after dropping the pretty well recieved Dreams Worth More Than Money. At least Omarion is doing well. Is MMG in trouble?
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Andre: Who’d a thought that on a label with Meek, Wale, Gunplay, Ross, and Stalley that Omarion would have the radio hit? Chalk that up to how nutty it’s been in MMG land. The label that Ross built is crumbling due to incessant infighting, cross town dalliances, unnecessary provocations and shrinking revenues. All that Medusa head stuff is starting to take root. MMG’s downfall mirrors that of Rome’s in real, unavoidable ways. So, yes. That’s the answer. MMG is in trouble. They’re in trouble they way growing cacti is not going to stop the drought in California. Reckless personalities there are at each other’s throats and no one is coming out with new music. Still, Wale should not have gotten at his label mate that way under any circumstances. Sometimes the truth is what you don’t say. And, under duress, a group who’s in it together closes ranks and deals with their issues in house and not on radio shows. So did Wale have a right to say what he said?
Ural: I honestly can’t answer that. On one side, this is another way of Wale not really being absolutely clear on where his allegiances lie. Then again, who can blame him. He told an uncomfortable truth saying what everyone knew in terms of how unprepared Meek was in his lyrical battle with Drake. But, he wasn’t disrespectful. Clearly, he wanted to be honest while defending his MMG brother the best way he could. Hell, Wale has a storied relationship with Drake and so does Ross himself. In Wale’s case, the best thing he could have done was to stay quiet and that would have been better said than done considering it was The Breakfast Club. But, did Mill overreact?
Andre: Listen, Meek Mill overreacts. Do we not understand that by now? He constantly overreacts. He shouts on every track. Even love songs! So, yeah, duh, he overreacted. But, Wale can be completely right and be completely wrong at the same time. He may have not been ready for Drake’s follow-up, but why lend credence to it by cementing it? Is that guy on your team or not? Later on in the interview he mentioned that the team isn’t quite what it once was, but perhaps calling out your labelmate isn’t the way back to glory. And let’s not forget the rest of the interview. Especially the parts where he clowned Black Lives Matter as rebels without a cause and said some slick shit about gay people making him uncomfortable. Isn’t that the guy who made “White Sneakers?” Isn’t he all about live and let live? Apparently not when it’s in the service of getting at the guy that’s on your own label. There’s honesty, you know, and then there’s tact. Plus, after Rick Ross is trying desperately to maintain an image of teamwork and tranquility, why does Wale have to go out and rock the boat?
Ural: That’s because Wale is dealing with the reality that he’s managed to become a failure in the commercial sense. The Album About Nothingand The Giftedbefore then were essentially flops as both have failed to even reach gold. Hell, his most successful album Ambition hasn’t hit the 500K mark yet despite having some successful singles and being his first number one charting album. Watching Mill surpass him in terms of notoriety has to be infuriating. Doesn’t help that Wale’s attitude is known to be sort-of bad. Add Mill’s hood sensibilities into the mix and the end result is what we have here now. Too bad. Mill, Wale and Ross are barely selling at the moment. Is it time for Ross to re-evaluate the MMG situation?
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Andre: Yes. Of course. And he can begin by asking questions to his partners. No one likes to lose, and absolutely no one wants a loss robbed in their face by a teammate. Let’s start there. Then, we can get back to shifting their sound to continue to be the hitmakers that Ross has been in the past. There’s no reason why MMG should not be successful and there’s no reason that Wale shouldn’t be apart of it. But I’m troubled. Meek Mill implied in his Instagram post that Wale is cracking up. Has been talking of taking his own life? Is there something deeper going on with Wale? If that’s the case, then maybe we should be having a whole different conversation. Wale is still one of the most talented emcees in the business. His audience is sprawling and different, and that’s something to be commended. If each stays in their lane then they can all win. Will they? That’s a different matter entirely. P.S: Is it true that Ross owes people money? I guess we’ll have to answer that question next time.
Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant that has contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Features Editor for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter @drejones.
Ural Garrett is a Los Angeles-based journalist and HipHopDX’s Senior Features Writer. When not covering music, video games, films and the community at large, he’s in the kitchen baking like Anita. Follow him on Twitter @Uralg.
