Quick Hit: Is Waka Flocka Flame Actually Hip-Hop’s Nicest Rapper?

(A note from Nathan S: Waka Flocka has a well-earned reputation as a purveyor of ignorant rap, but I keep hearing stories about how genuinely nice and funny he is in person. On that note, I'll let Ru take if from here...)

Rappers are known for portraying fake images as a means of selling their music to fans– usually in the form of a gangster or a ladies’ man. These days, no one seems to be content with themselves a person so they make up some fictitious lifestyle in hopes of being cool to the point where they come off as a “try-hard” (as my best friend likes to call it when describing people who lack personality). While I certainly agree with her statement, there a select few who don’t need to put on a front to become likable and Waka Flocka is one of them.

On April 25, I had the chance to cross paths with the 25-year-old ATLien at New York’s Bowery Hotel for an up-close-and-personal event with the folks at SPIN Magazine. Waka, who serves as the poster boy for SPIN’s May/June Loud issue, held a Grove St. Party for a few marquee editors, writers and lucky fans. I didn’t get a chance to speak with him personally, but his uber friendly demeanor immediately took me back when he happened to single me out in a corner of the VIP section before waving and flashing a huge smile.

As a writer, hanging around celebrities is part of my routine, but it’s not often that I come across a rapper who is genuinely happy to make my acquaintance. Wait, there’s more…. aside from his inviting personality, he’s pretty talented – not in a lyrical sense, though he definitely knows how to get even the most bourgeois “music fans” yell out Brick Squuuaaadddd by the end of a performance. For about an hour, Flocka went "Hard N Da Paint" before cutting through songs off his upcoming "Triple F Life: Friends, Fans and Family" including the Trey Songz collabo "I Don’t Really Care" and he even managed to do it all with "No Hands".

I could sit here and write out everything that went down, but that really wouldn’t the Flame any justice. So just in case I failed at convincing you about how entertaining Waka Flocka Flame truly is, take a look at what happened when he visited SPIN Magazine’s headquarters for a day. It’s pretty funny stuff.



Also, pick up a copy of SPIN’s Loud issue at the nearest newsstand and check out Waka’s cover story and look out for his sophomore album on June 12.

See Also: Is Waka Flocka’s “Hard in the Paint” the Most Ad-Libbed Track in Rap History?