Eight New Faces To Watch in '08

WALE
...is the next Lupe Fiasco

This Washington, D.C.-based emcee, 23, once dubbed himself ''a young, black, African Orson Welles.'' Nice try, but we think his eagerness to flout commercial rap's conventions makes Wale (pronounced wah-LAY) more akin to '06 blogger fave Lupe Fiasco. In Wale's case, that means tons of brainy wordplay layered over percussion rhythms drawn from D.C.'s go-go scene. And while Lupe was introduced to the world's hipsters by Kanye West, Wale has a trendy patron of his own: Producer Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse) recently signed Wale to his label, Allido, and the duo's brief performance at this year's MTV Video Music Awards was one of the broadcast's few highlights. As the online accolades continue to pile up for his mixtapes, Wale is heading toward a potential deal with a major label (his reps won't reveal which one) and a full-length debut. Here's hoping it's his Citizen Kane. —Simon Vozick-Levinson