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Born to a military family, Wiz Khalifa’s early years were spent moving from country to country, never truly able to call one place home. This international upbringing has been reflected in the rapper’s music and found him success with his 2008 single “Say Yeah”, which featured Wiz Khalifa’s rap lyrics over a Eurodance track.
Taking inspiration from a variety of artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Notorious B.I.G., Wiz Khalifa plays with a range of musical styles within his tracks, but all are equally melodic.
Known for cultivating a strong fan following from a grassroots level, Wiz Khalifa found his popularity continue to increase after the release of his free mix tape “Kush and Orange Juice”. The mix tape generated so much excitement from fans that it ended up being the number one trending topic on Twitter shortly after its release, and led the rapper to sell out every gig in his 2010 “Waken Baken” tour.
Moving away from Warner Brothers due to delays in releasing his material, Wiz Khalifa switched to Atlantic Records in 2010 and released single “Black and Yellow” shortly after. The single hit the number one spot in the US charts and earned him a Grammy and MTV VMA Award nomination.
The success of this single bolstered anticipation for Wiz Khalifa’s 2011 studio album “Rolling Papers”, which debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard charts. It wasn’t long before this success was repeated when Wiz Khalifa’s 2012 album “O.N.I.F.C” once again debuted in the US number 2 spot with single “Work Hard, Play Hard” reaching number 3 in the rap charts.
Unprepared to rest on his laurels, Wiz Khalifa formed his own record label Taylor Gang Records and has collaborated with Curren$y on a collaborative EP. Furthermore, Wiz Khalifa upped his own achievements yet again with the release of his fifth studio album “Blacc Hollywood” in 2014, which hit the number one spot in the US Billboard charts.
After his somewhat questionable ventures in and out of prison for drug possession, some people have become dubious of Khalifa’s spot in the limelight, but there’s absolutely no denying the irritatingly catchy tune of ‘blackandyellowblackandyellow’.
Once it gets stuck in your head, there’s no escape. Wiz initially built his fan base through cult followings gathered through his release of mixtapes, but this became an unnecessary feat after the boom of ‘Black and Yellow’.
Although the cult following that he initially obtained means that now his gigs are somewhat ‘pot heavy’, if you’re willing to overlook this and embrace the lyrics about rolling joints ‘bigger than King Kong’s fingers’, you’re in for a pretty awesome show.
His charisma translates through to performance, engaging with both his band, and audience, often welcoming out his producers and team mates to take a bow, a gesture of inclusion and gratitude.
Khalifa’s clever hooks entice the audience and pushes rap into the mainstream music genre, blurring the lines of traditional stereotypes, and encouraging a broadening of the audiences music taste.
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