Wale Talks Parenting, Reveals Struggles With Emotionally Connecting To Daughter

Wow… That’s Crazy has been a hit with fans as Wale celebrates his Jeremih-assisted single, “On Chill” going Gold. The DMV rapper’s sixth studio album was a labor of love that shares the hills and valleys of romance, relationships, and the self. Wale isn’t shy about pouring out his heart on wax or in interviews, and in a recent sit-down with Ebro Arden on Rap Life, the rapper revealed more about his latest record and personal life when he admitted that there are times that he struggles with being a father to a daughter.

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Ebro mentioned that he interpreted one of Wale’s lyrics about his parents as meaning that the rapper has difficulty expressing his emotions. “It’s so crazy…I never really talk about this with my daughter, but we talk about our kids all the time, personally. It’s like…I struggle,” Wale said. “My baby mother is an amazing mother, but me, I struggle sometimes, and I didn’t know this was going to happen. When you have kids, you don’t really even know your true self for real, especially if you have a daughter. I didn’t know I was going to struggle with like, connecting emotionally to a baby girl. ‘Cause I try. I do feel it but expressing it is so different.”

He said it wasn’t until he began seeking out professional help that he realized that his upbringing was influencing his parenting style. “Sometimes how you were raised don’t come to fruition until you start raising somebody,” he added. “I never was like ‘gaga, goo-goo’ and all that stuff. It’s love, but how I do it, but the feeling is there.”

Wale’s parents weren’t the type to display their affection, but he knew that they loved him. “It’s really just a fear but it’s also, we love our parents and we respect them but it’s more like a, ‘Did you sweep the floor before I come home from work?’…It’s not putting down my parents because many kids that have parents from other countries, they have different morals. I’m trying to learn how to do it but I don’t want to be like fake because I don’t want to give my daughter fake energy. I just vibe with her different.” Check out the clip below.