Wale’s latest video, for "The Work," a track from his most recent mixtape, More About Nothing, is a visual trip through Washington, D.C. But as the rapper becomes increasingly famous, shooting on the streets of D.C. becomes increasingly interesting.

David Banks of Banks Films, who shot the video over two days in August, says the first day of filming was low-key: He and his assistant, along with Greg Harrison, Wale’s road manager and a founder of the Board Administration, rode around D.C. capturing b-roll of everything from Ben’s Chili Bowl (pretty much an establishing shot for every DMV rap video) and retail stores to Anacostia’s Big Chair. The second day was a five-hour shoot with Wale, along with Fat Trel and others, walking the streets of D.C., which, of course, drew some attention.

“We shot in front of a building where Wale used to live, and a couple of fans realized who he was, and we started to get a little crowd,” Banks says. “It wasn’t too big, but people were walking by saying, ‘Hey, that’s Wale!’ Then the crowd started coming, so we moved to the next location.”

At the next spot, Banks says the crew was approached by officers with the Metropolitan Police Department. “Wale was rapping, and someone turned down the music. I have my back to them, because I’m holding the camera, and then people were like, ‘Oh, the cops!’" he says. "I thought they may try to stop us, but they were like, ‘It’s OK, we just want a copy of the new mixtape.’”

Banks says Wale caused a similar stir at a basketball court—but only after the teenagers they recruited to serve as extras found out whose video they had agreed to appear in. "We got shots of them playing ball while we were waiting for Wale to show up," Banks says. "It worked out well, because these guys weren’t calling everybody like, 'Come up here, Wale is coming!' But when he came, they were like, 'Wow, that's really him!' They were in awe."

Banks, who has worked with famed video director Kai Crawford, the man behind Akon's video for "Locked Up," says the concept for “The Work" was to basically pay homage to people working in D.C. “The video is catering to all of Wale’s fans, but, first and foremost, it’s for the working side of D.C.,” he says. “He wanted to make everyone from D.C. feel special, let them know, we haven’t forgotten about you, and we’re paying homage, this video dedicated to you.”

But shouting out D.C. businesses, Banks says, means being careful to be inclusive, especially in the case of fashion retailers such as DTLR and Shooters Sports. “The thing about it is, we shot so many different things, we didn’t want anyone to be left out at all, and if you shoot one clothing line, have to get all of them." Banks says he didn't want anyone to complain, so he shot a ton of retailers, and their logos all flash by during the video.

“Usually when you see a video shot in D.C., you see the White House, the National Mall, the monuments, so we wanted to portray the other side of D.C., which has a whole other culture that a lot of people aren’t familiar with, rather than showing the same things people see over and over again," he says. "Because Wale is from the DMV area, we wanted to give it the attention it deserves, show him repping D.C. and giving back love to everyone who has supported him.”