Further proof that MySpace is the only marketing tool you need: Last year, Wale uploaded one scorching-hot jam (“Nike Boots”), attracted the attention of DJ Nick Catchdubs and producer Mark Ronson, and spurred a major-label bidding war. (The track’s not even about shoes, but Nike co-opted it for an advertising campaign anyway.) The 23-year-old Prince George’s County resident seemed like a worldbeater in ’07, but it’s all eyes on Wale this year as he prepares to drop a mixtape rife with go-go beats and a totally nutty concept: It’s an homage to his favorite show about nothing, Seinfeld. You know how Kanye came onto the scene as a heavyweight champ? Wale’s like that but armed with a sicker flow, sharper metaphors, and more erudite rhymes—a fighter in the form of a writer.

—Nick Green