A MAN OF THE PEOPLE: WALLO 267
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA | WALLO 267
INTERVIEW WALLO 267
Wallace “Wallo267” Peeples is a cultural phenom well on his way to becoming an icon in his own right. After serving a 20 year prison sentence, Wallo came home with a plan and a vengeance to make something of himself and to change his family's plight of generational incarceration. He is an avid speaker detailing his life so that others can learn from his mistakes. His “Million Dollaz Worth of Game Podcast”, with his cousin Gillie Da Kid, is a key mainstay in hip hop culture. He does inspirational posts on Instagram and Twitter that reaches millions of fans daily. Wallo is determined not to live life as a statistic and his energy and work proves that he is on the right path. Validated Magazine got the chance to sit down with Wallo and the following is the interview that transpired. Enjoy the ride.
VALIDATED: Tell us about your Philly growing up and how it influenced you and what you learned that was good and bad about that influence later in life?
WALLO267: Probably growing up, I was attracted to the street culture. I've seen a lot of dudes winning on the street level. So to me, it was like in order to win in life, I had to win on the street level in order to get attention and the allure that came with it... the women, the approval, the acceptance, and all that shit. But outside of that, as a kid, it was just a great place growing up. Especially before you know what's going on, when you're just naive to the street culture, you're just a kid living your life. I think it was like any other place.
VALIDATED: I’ve heard you share that in 1998 and in 2005 you were in the same cell in prison as your father and then your brother. What feelings went through your mind in those moments and were you already thinking about how you could break the cycle for the next generation of your family once you got out of prison and what were the conversations with your family like at those times?
WALLO267: It was crazy because I remember when I called my grandma and I was talking to her, me and my stepfather were cell mates and then I called her again and me and my brother was cell mates, and you know, we used to go see my stepfather in jail as kids together. So it was just, it was real crazy, but I knew this wasn't a thing because I could hear the vocal tone of my grandma when I was telling about it. Like, it was just disappointment, you know? And I knew I had to change that and break the cycle of generational incarceration. So what I did was I said, I'm gonna turn it up. When I get out here, I'm gonna make sure that my people after me, don't go through what I went through.
VALIDATED: You don’t get off parole until 2048, do you ever think that you can get that reduced, or have you already settled into the fact that that will never change, and what do you do to keep your mind off of it?
WALLO267: You know, at the end of the day, right now, I've got a petition going around. I got some other things and I'm working to get a reduction, a major reduction or it wiped off of me. I'm real optimistic about that. I don't really worry about that. I just keep doing what I'm doing, stay focused, you know, I'm a real positive person. So I'm always looking at the brightest side of life. I'm never down, I ain't pessimistic. So it's going to come up off me, you know everything takes time and I've only been out of prison 4 years so, you know, I just see that one day it'll be up off me. So I don't even sweat it. I just put work on other parts in my life and focus on that.
End Probation for Wallace "Wallo267" Peeples
https://www.change.org/p/tom-wolf-end-probation-for-wallace-wallo267-peeples?use_react=false
VALIDATED: You've had the 267 as a part of you since your incarceration in the 90’s and it later becomes an area code in Philly, how much of that do you think was God or some type of divine intervention sending you a sign to make it your duty to give Philly kids and kids all over, positive messages and show them positive action when you came home?
WALLO267: I never really thought about the number, but it was a shock when it came that way and that always was my number. DG2670, it was always my number, but more importantly, I think my give back is based upon everything that I took. I devalued my community in so many ways. I wanted to bring value back to my community in a different way. And just try to, you know, redirect kids that were probably on the wrong path as I was, or if they was following the wrong influences in life, just like I did. So I wanted to give the city something and the kids, something, and it ain't just Philly... it's inner city kids everywhere. I just wanted to give them some hope and show them that there is another way that they could go without being a rapper, without being a street nigga, without being an athlete, not saying anything bad about them outside of the street nigga, but just give them a different route and just show them that anything is possible. No matter what you've been through in life, you can always bounce back.
VALIDATED: What’s your way of giving back now at this stage in your career outside of motivational speaking and positive messages and action, and how do you want to give back in the future maybe on a bigger scale?
WALLO267: I do a lot for non-profit organizations in my city. Not just volunteering time. I give that money up. One of my favorite programs is the “Fact Program”. Another is “As We Plant the Seed”. And one of my favorites also is “One Day At A Time”. You know what I mean? My brother, Mel Wells and them, they just major out here. They take care of a lot of people, you know, that was going through addiction and all that. So I put my money where my mouth is, you know, and I show up when necessary and I support whatever they got going on. But furthermore, I'm trying to create a technology learning center for kids to teach them about coding and all these other things, like how to build solar panels and all types of stuff that's dealing with technology. If you can play the game, you can win the game and you should be able to create the game.
VALIDATED: What sacrifices have you made since coming home or things that you’ve had to go without because you’re constantly invested in building your brand?
WALLO267: Oh man, sacrifices, man. There's a lot, man. You just go a lot of days where you just don't have stuff coming out of the penitentiary. You're trying to figure it out. And if you used to having a certain lifestyle and doing things and, you know, buying things, and then you come home, you just don't have that. Sometimes your living situation is crazy. And you got to sacrifice, seeing people that might have respect for you in the street culture and they might be doing some big things in the street life and you gotta be able to sacrifice when you say no even when they can help you and make your little process a little quicker with the finances or whatever, when you just step away and say no, that ain't for me, because I don't want to be connected to that lifestyle no more.
VALIDATED: What's your earliest memory of hip-hop and the culture and what does it mean to you?
WALLO267: Hip hop is everything to me because hip hop was the soundtrack of my struggle in America and the ghetto. That was everybody's soundtrack. And it was everybody's escape from the pain that they was going through when that crack era hit and everything was going on. That was, you know, rather you was eating in the crib, or rather your mom was on drugs or whatever was going on, it was a soundtrack and it was to the struggle. And it was an escape of the struggle. Rather if you was listening to the music, rather if you was trying to create the music, rather if you was B boying, rather you was deejaying... whatever it was, it was a thing that we had that brought us happiness in a place where, you know, it was just so dark at the time, you know, and that's how I see hip hop. And that's what it was to me.
VALIDATED: Who are some artists on the Philly scene that you’re showing love to?
WALLO267: Rocky, Mambo Cinca, Leaf Ward. Uh, it's just a lot of artists to name. It's too many to name, but I try to show love to as many as possible, you know, OT The Real, It's just so many, it's too many to name.
VALIDATED: Do you have any plans on writing and narrating a book about your life?
WALLO267: I’ve got three books out, “The Mind of Wallo 267”, “The Mind of Wallo 267 part two” and “The Mind of Wallo 267 part three”.
VALIDATED: Do you go back to some of the Prisons you were in as a speaker to give guys motivation for when they get out?
WALLO267: I'm waiting to do that now. It takes time to get approved. You gotta be out of jail a certain amount of time, but then when COVID hit that backed stuff up even more. But after that, I'm definitely going to be sliding through the places I was at.
VALIDATED: What artists are you currently listening to when you’re riding in your car or chillin at home?
WALLO267: My number one artist I listen to more than anything is Sampha. That's a singer from South London. I listen to Saba from Chicago. I listen to a lot of slow stuff man, a lot of old stuff, jazz, rock... I listen to everything, I can't just put it in one but Sampha, I think I listen to Sampha more than anybody.
VALIDATED: Tell us about other ventures you're currently working on.
WALLO267: I'm just doing a lot. TV shows, a lot of stuff that me and Gil are working on, a record label. Just a lot of stuff, man. I always got something going on. You know, it's just too much to put my hands on, but it's a lot. It's a lot.
VALIDATED: What is the most important message that you want to get out to the public?
WALLO267: Keep going, no matter what! I don't care how many times you fall, get back up and keep going. Don't ever stop and don't let nobody put their insecurities, their fears, or their shortcomings on you and try to deter you to stop going after your dream.
VALIDATED: Where can the readers support you on social media?
WALLO267: You can support me @Wallo267 on IG, Twitter and YouTube and also at www.wallo267.com.