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Wale Defends His Low Album Sales in New Interview With Joe Budden

The "SHINE" emcee doesn't back down.

Wale was so eager to release his new album, SHINE, into the wild that he passionately moved the release date up a week, setting the project free on April 28.

However, such a move may not have played in his favor, with the album reportedly projected to only sell 18,000 to 22,000 units in its first week. As many are looking to blame Wale for his seemingly impulsive decision, or perhaps his label for moving forward with it, the Washington, D.C., native himself is more interested in talking about the quality of the project.

During a heated sit-down on Complex's new web series Everyday Struggle, which is co-hosted by Joe BuddenDJ Akademiks and moderated by Nadeska Alexis, Wale finds himself holding his own while sitting in the hot seat as the conversation focuses on why his album "flopped."

"I didn't create enough awareness like I should have..." the rapper shares, as to why he didn't wind up with larger sale numbers. "I put it on me, I don't put it on Atlantic."

He then goes on to explain that he's not going to entertain the term "flop" any longer, with him and DJ Akademiks really going at it, to the point where they are talking over one another, while Budden patiently awaits his turn to chime in (a rare move from the passionate rapper).

“My thing is I’m not trying to point fingers," Wale continues. "I’m trying to focus on what we at. You talking about it’s a flop. I always wondered what would happen if I had a bad first week since the beginning of my career. And I finally did and I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m invincible now.’ I faced my worst joint and it’s not so bad. My LA show sold out in six hours. So I know I’m doing something right. I know what’s going to happen. I believe in that album with all my heart. I understand there’s a lot of people who haven’t even heard it."

The conversation-turned-debate raises several interesting points regarding Wale's career ups-and-downs, such as weighing quality over numbers and how Wale isn't losing sleep over the lack of sales due to feeling proud of the art he created.

Throughout the interview, it is most commendable that Wale didn't lose his cool composure despite the topic's growing intensity. Meanwhile, as pointed out by Twitter, Akademiks took a couple L's during this sit-down as well, so much so that he ended up becoming a trending topic.

Take a look at Wale's in-depth interview on Everyday Struggle in full below.

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