District-native rapper Wale will play a free “secret” show on Saturday to show off tracks from his new LP, The Album About Nothing. While space at the show, which is being put on by the DC government’s events and economic-development bureaus, might be tight, the event is not actually that clandestine.
Wale announced the show in an early-morning tweet, with details to follow:
Im doin free show in DC this weekend at a secret (for now) location this will be historical
— Wale Folarin (@Wale) April 2, 2015
Events DC and Atlantic Records won’t confirm the location, but all signs point to Wale appearing between 1 and 5 PM tomorrow in the parking lot of the AutoZone shop at 1207 H Street, Northeast. What gave it away? A press release this afternoon from Events DC, while not giving away an address, reads that the concert “will showcase the District’s thriving, diverse businesses including those located on the H Street corridor.”
Sneaky, sneaky. Unfortunately for the conspirator, Benjamin Miller, a founder of real-estate investment company Fundrise, was less careful earlier this week when he tipped off his investors to a big event outside AutoZone:
@FrozenTropics I see chatter wale is performing in the autozone lot this week! pic.twitter.com/OUQRWzRrtj
— Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) March 31, 2015
Miller’s message only mentions a “local superstar musician,” but it’s safe to assume he’s not talking about a Gray Matter reunion. Released Tuesday, The Album About Nothing is Wale’s fourth studio album, and perhaps the culmination of his Seinfeld fandom. (Clips from the sitcom about nothing and voiceovers from Jerry Seinfeld himself appear on nearly every track.) You can RSVP for tomorrow’s concert here.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
