Rapper Wale Representing Washington D.C. Freestyle

Wale “Nike Boots” video (Directed by Chris Robinson) from Elitaste on Vimeo.

Wale “Nike Boots” video (Directed by Chris Robinson) from Elitaste on Vimeo.Official music video for Wale’s “Nike Boots”, directed by Chris Robinson. Song produced by Osinachi. Featuring cameos from Kid Capri, Bun B, 9th Wonder, Young Guru, Raheem DeVaughn, Young Chris and Neef, Grafh, UCB, Tabi Bonney and Beat Your Feet Kings.

As we predicted back in January, Wale, Kid Cudi and Drake have had a huge impact on hip-hop this year. They’ve not only built a buzz for themselves, but they’ve found themselves standing alongside the likes of Jay-Z, Eminem, Kanye West and 50 Cent. And, as GQ magazine points out, they’ve helped to quell hip-hop’s gangster persona and usher in a real-life focus. The three MCs are featured in the GQ’s Men of the Year issue in an article titled “Gangsta Killers.”

“Anybody from Cleveland will tell you, I wasn’t in the street,” Kid Cudi said. “Ask them, they’ll say, ‘Scotty was the goofy class clown.’ ”

The article points out the contrast between songs about “duct-taped kilos, exotic firearms, and freaky girls” and the lyrics of this up-and-coming generation of rappers. Cudi’s introspective raps have helped secure him a dedicated following that propelled his single, “Day N’ Nite,” into a top-five hit and stoner anthem, and his debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, sold over 100,000 thousand copies in its first week. Wale’s attention to lyrical detail has established him as D.C.’s first major hip-hop artist, and his live show earned him a spot as the leader of this year’s VMA house band and touring with Jay-Z. And Drake, whose So Far Gone mixtape and “Best I Ever Had” single made him the object of a label bidding war this summer, stood verse-for-verse with Eminem, Lil Wayne and Kanye West on “Forever.”

While they have each helped to establish a new aesthetic for rap, they aren’t too keen on being called “Gangsta Killers.”

“The dope boy is going to be a fixture of black culture as long as ‘thug’ is a legitimate option alongside ‘job,’ ” Drake told GQ. “But I’m not going to rap about how much crack I sold.”