As Phil Collins is prone to say, I can feel it coming in the air tonight. The leaves are falling, the college football is being played, the hayrides are being taken; it's mtvU Woodie Awards season, pumpkins.

In honor of mtvU's annual award show, honoring the music the rocked college campuses the hardest, we thought we'd get some of these nominees used to the fierce competition they will face when the show will airs on MTV, MTV2, mtvU and Palladia on Friday, December 4, at 10 pm.

Today we're pitting the D.C. rapper (and this year's MTV Video Music Awards in-house entertainer) Wale against Brooklyn dream-poppers Passion Pit. Both acts are nominated for the Breaking Woodie Award.

Arbitrarily (and vaguely), let's say we're judging on the basis of dopeness. It's something you can't define, but you know it when you see it.

The Wale video has swagger. A swooping opening shot, a Lady Gaga feature, a dope beat, and it was most people's introduction to the lovable Chocolate City emcee.

Passion Pit is all indie innovation and art. And it's gorgeous. A beautiful, lush tune full of swelling keyboards with a unique video, givinng an impressionistic snapshot of a night in the life of a young lady; tearing that snapshot up in the process.

The winner? Well the nice part is, it's up to you! Let us know who you like in the comments, and go vote for your favorite at the mtvu Woodie site (where you can vote in any of the categories being awarded at the show!).

The leaves are leaving the trees and the kids are back in school. It's starting to look like Woodie weather out there, no?

MTVU's annual award show--held this year on December 4th--honors those artists who put it down on college campuses everywhere; celebrating the music the kids listen to while studying to become the future leaders of America, etc. And the best part about this show? You can vote to determine who wins!

This year features a really healthy crop of artists. Let's take a gander at some of the categories and nominees, shall we?

For the Woodie of the Year Award, for the artist who made the biggest splash on college campuses this year, we've got Asher Roth, Kings Of Leon, Drake, Silversun Pickups and MGMT.

In the category of Breaking Woodie, which honors up and coming artists who have made headway with the kids, the nominees are Grizzly Bear, Never Shout Never, Wale, La Roux, Friendly Fires and Passion Pit.

Probably my favorite category, Left Field Woodie, which features artists who defy classification, features nominees like Amanda Blank, Major Lazer, Janelle Monae and P.O.S.

You can also vote in the categories Performing Woodie, Good Woodie and College Radio Woodie, BMOC Woodie and Best Video Woodie.

Solange is officially the coolest celebrity I've talked to so far today at VMA rehearsals at Radio City.

I was hoping she'd oblige to having our VMA photographer, John Shearer (between him and Frank Micelotta, they've shot some of the VMAs' most iconic photos, including pretty much every unforgettable VMA photo of Britney Spears) take a quick photo of her after she finished her VMA rehearsal with Wale.

But when I approached her, she was all "Hey!!! What's up?" and actually remembered our previous interviews (once in a tiny TRL dressing room, once at an MTV Staying Alive event), and we pretty much bro'ed down (or whatever the girl equivalent is) when I flipped for her amazing eyelashes -- MAC -- her friend Janelle Monae's MAC Fashion Week event, and the horse necklace I was wearing. When she was like "how am I gonna remember the designer?" I was like, "I'll just Tweet it to you," to which Solange replied "Okay, now you're talking." WE HAD A MOMENT!

LOVE Solange and her understanding of Twitter's one-to-one efficiency. Oh yeah, wait! The photo! Check OUT that jacket; Solange is a one-woman Fashion Week. Wanna see more? Check out more shots of Solange stylishly chilled-out backstage.

Solange will be performing live with Wale at the 2009 MTV VMAs on Sunday, September 13. Don't miss it.

Wale is on top of his game.

He's also on top of me, pretty much literally, as I'm sitting underneath the metal scaffolding built out of the radio city stage, designed to look like a tiny downtown NYC venue (think Mercury Lounge, if you've been).

Above Wale, who's rhyming over a Coldplay mash-up and "Make Her Say" with Kanye, Kid Cudi, and the nine-times-nominated Lady Gaga, are about two dozen flashing LCD screens built into steel latticework. Even better? Solange is rehearsing with him.

Ever seen Rent? It feels like alphabet city before American Apparel and schmancy hotels moved in. On the other side of the house, construction's still under way on the VMA stage, and in the house, 3OH3, Pitbull, and Sway look on from the velvet seats as Wale's live band pushes through a lengthy rehearsal.  Check out more shots of Wale backstage.

It takes DC rapper Wale two hours to get dressed in the morning, because he takes fashion incredibly seriously. "Sneakerhead" doesn't begin to describe him, or the way he pores over denim styles, cuts and washes. This is not a hobby. This is art.

When he's not making masterpieces in the mirror, Wale is obsessing over sports -- real or pixelated. He's only lost at "NBA 2K9" once since he left for tour (he frequently invites people on to the bus for a challenge), and his win count for the year now hovers around 250. He's into sports so deep that, as he'll tell you, if he weren't all wrapped up in music, he'd be working the athlete beat.

But he is all wrapped up in music. Mark Ronson, who's doing everything he can to pull Wale up, describes the rapper as a "cross between Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco and Nas."

To find out how this fanatic talent -- the same one that spawned "Chillin," featuring Lady Gaga -- grew out of an early obsession with professional wrestling, watch Wale on "The 5," below. Check the "Chillin" video after the jump, and keep an eye out for Wale's Attention: Deficit, due out later this year.

+ Watch "Chillin'," featuring Lady Gaga, after the jump.

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A few things you need to know about 19-year-old newcomer Kristinia DeBarge and her new single, "Goodbye," which you may find right at home alongside the likes of Rihanna (you may hear some echoes of "S.O.S" in there) Kat DeLuna, and Danity Kane.

1.) You've heard the song on that Nivea commercial. Trust me, you've heard it.

2.) Kristinia is the daughter of James DeBarge, one of the founding members of '80s R&B pop band DeBarge. (!!!)

3.) "Goodbye" samples the 1969 Steam classic "“Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," and it's not the only song right now that's using that cut -- Wale's "Chillin'," featuring Lady Gaga, also samples the same song. (Because perhaps there are not enough original songs out there to sample?)

4.) Speaking of Lady Gaga, Kristinia DeBarge's "Goodbye" video was directed by Ray Kay, who also directed Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" video.

5.) In the video, there's a close-up on Kristinia's watch, which is a hot pink Casio Baby-G ($79, Casio Baby-G). Who else rocks the Baby-G? Lady Gaga in her "LoveGame" video.

+ Watch Kristinia DeBarge's "Goodbye" video, and look for Kristinia DeBarge's debut album later this summer. And, after the jump, watch Wale's "Chillin'" video.

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Obviously you've been chugging the Gaga juice, but I hope to hell you've been following Wale (not just on Twitter -- he's @Wale -- but that's good too). The DC rapper/ producer/ mixtape master's got a serious Seinfeld problem (like, WAY worse than your Gossip Girl addiction) and go-go jones, and he's teaming up with Mark Ronson on his debut studio album Attention Deficit, out later this summer.

One of the first singles out the gate and straight into your brain: "Chillin'," and while the chick on the hook sounds a lot like M.I.A., it's actually Lady Gaga (who's VERY pissed, by the way, that you've already seen her "Paparazzi" video. Thanks a lot, PEREZ!).

The "Chillin'" video was shot in D.C., and the song samples the instantly recognizable 1969 song "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam (which was covered by the The Nylons in 1987).

+ Watch a 30-second sneak peek of Wale's brand-new "Chillin'" video, featuring Lady Gaga, and stay tuned for the full-length video, coming soon.

(Credit: Mel D. Cole/Villageslum.com)

MTV staff writer/ resident hip-hop historian/soothsayer timmhotep aku sees the future of hip-hop in Wale. Knowledge is dropped accordingly:

This is Wale. His name is pronounced "Wah-Lay." Familiarize yourself with his face, learn his songs, be an early adopter, because in the coming months you’ll be seeing a lot of him. And when you do see him, you'll be able to brag that you were up on him before anyone else was.

Hailing from Washington, D.C. and reppin' the whole DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia), Wale is basically where hip-hop is going. While've all been worrying about stuff like gas prices, the recession, and a presidential election, rap has been in the midst of a renaissance. Tough-guy posturing and stereotypes are being supplanted by a new breed emcees of who pride themselves on eclecticism and lyricism.

Wale loves Seinfeld, rhymes over go-go music and has a jones for streetwear and sneaks. He's got the co-sign of folks like Jay-Z, Lindsay Lohan, the Roots, and Mark Ronson, who signed him to his Allido Records label. And best of all, the dude can rap. Watch when he blows up -- we'll be standing here arms folded like "toldya so."

+ Watch Wale below in the Roots' new "Rising Up" video with Chrisette Michele and in Amy Winehouse's "Valerie" video (minus Amy), check out Wale's MySpace page and The Mixtape About Nothing and catch him on the Rock the Bells tour this summer.