Wiz Khalifa

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Wiz Khalifa

Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His techno-influenced single, "Say Yeah", received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008.[1] Khalifa parted with Warner Bros. and released his second album, Deal or No Deal, in November 2009. He released the mixtape Kush and Orange Juice as a free download in April 2010, which became a top trending item on Twitter and Google; he then signed with Atlantic Records.[2]

Early life

Khalifa was born on September 8, 1987 in Minot, North Dakota to a mother and a father serving in the military.[1][3] His parents divorced when Khalifa was about three years old. His parents' military service caused him to move on a regular basis.[3] Khalifa lived in Germany, England, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School.[1]

His stage name is derived from khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was fifteen.[4] Khalifa stated to spinner.com that the name also came from being called "young Wiz 'cause I was good at everything I did".[5] He includes Camp Lo, The Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony among his influences.[6]

Career

Khalifa released his first mixtape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania, in 2005. The mixtape led to his first full length album entitled Show and Prove in 2006. Khalifa was declared an "artist to watch" that year in Rolling Stone magazine.[7]

In 2007, Khalifa signed to Warner Bros. Records and released two mixtapes through Rostrum Records: Grow Season, hosted by DJ Green Lantern and released on July 4, 2007, and Prince of the City 2, released on November 20, 2007. His debut Warner Bros. single "Say Yeah" reached number 25 on the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 music chart and number 20 on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks. The song samples "Better Off Alone" by Alice Deejay. Khalifa's vocals from "Say Yeah" appear near the end of Pittsburgh mash up producer Girl Talk's 2008 album, Feed the Animals, over music from Underworld's "Born Slippy", Usher's "Love in This Club", and the Cure's "In Between Days".[8] Khalifa appeared with The Game, David Banner and Play-n-Skillz at U92's Summer Jam at the USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah on August 2, 2008.[9] Khalifa released the mixtapes Star Power in September 2008, and Flight School in April 2009 on Rostrum Records.

Khalifa parted ways with Warner Bros. Records in July 2009 after numerous delays in releasing his planned debut album for the label, First Flight. Khalifa stated to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that, "I learned a lot during my time there and matured as an artist during the process. I'm happy to be moving on with all of my material and having the chance to be in control of my next moves".[10] Khalifa appeared with Girl Talk, Modey Lemon, Donora, Grand Buffet, and Don Caballero at the Amphitheatre at Station Square in Pittsburgh on July 31, 2009, where he announced that his relationship with Warner Bros. was over.[11]

Photograph of Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa performing at Columbia University in New York City in April 2010.

Continuing his association with Rostrum Records, Khalifa released the single "Teach U to Fly", and the mixtape How Fly, a collaboration with New Orleans rapper Curren$y, on August 9, 2009.[10] Khalifa introduced a more melodic style on the mixtape, alternating between singing and rapping. He opened for Wu-Tang Clan member U-God at the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon in New York City.[12] Khalifa released the mixtape Burn After Rolling on November 2, 2009, where he raps over familiar beats from other artists, including the songs "If I Were A Boy" and "Diva" by Beyoncé, "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun, "Luchini AKA This Is It" by Camp Lo, and "Best I Ever Had" by Drake.[13] Khalifa released his second album, Deal or No Deal, on November 24, 2009.[14]

Khalifa performed at Emo's in Austin, Texas in March 2010 as part of the 2010 South by Southwest Music Festival.[15] He appeared on the cover of XXL magazine that same month, for the magazine's annual list of Top 10 Freshman, which included Donnis, J. Cole, Pill, Freddie Gibbs, and Fashawn. He toured with rapper Yelawolf on a 20-date tour, the Deal Or No Deal Tour.[16] Khalifa released the free mixtape Kush and Orange Juice for download on April 14, 2010. Due to Khalifa's devoted grassroots fan base, the mixtape became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter with the hash tag #kushandorangejuice, and "Kush and Orange Juice download” ranked No. 1 on Google’s hot search trends.[17]

Citing music industry insiders, New York magazine wrote that Khalifa signed with Atlantic Records in April 2010, although the rapper didn't confirm it.[18] He stated to AllHipHop in June 2010 that he was working on a new album, but was weighing his options and hadn't yet decided on a label to distribute it.[19] Khalifa confirmed to MTV on July 30 that he was signing an Atlantic Records deal.[20]

Wiz Khalifa on stage
Wiz Khalifa on stage in Boston in August 2010.

Khalifa was featured in a remix and video for the 2010 Rick Ross single "Super High", alongside Curren$y.[21] He guested on the mixtape Grey Goose, Head Phones, and Thirsty Women by St. Louis rapper M.C,[22] and was featured on the track "The Breeze (Cool)" on rapper Wale's August 2010 mixtape More About Nothing.[23] Khalifa was named MTV's Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010, winning with nearly 70,000 votes, and beating out finalists Nicki Minaj, J. Cole, Travis Porter, and Diggy Simmons.[24]

Khalifa appeared at the Soundset 2010 festival in May 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside Method Man & Redman, Del the Funky Homosapien and Hieroglyphics, Atmosphere, Murs, Cage, and others.[25] He also performed at the 2010 Rock the Bells festival, along with hip hop veterans Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, KRS-One, Jedi Mind Tricks and Slick Rick.[26] Khalifa declined an invitation to tour with rapper Drake and launched his own "Waken Baken" tour, a 50-city national tour with rapper Yelawolf. The tour, scheduled to last from September to November 2010, has, as of October, sold out every venue.[6] Khalifa performed in a cypher during the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards. He recited his verse from the song, "The Check Point", from his mixtape with Curren$y, How Fly.[citation needed]

Khalifa released "Black and Yellow", his first single for Rostrum/Atlantic, produced by Stargate, which has received radio airplay.[6][27] The single debuted at No. 99 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart; the title of the song refers to the colors of the Pittsburgh Steelers.[28] Khalifa will release his debut album with Atlantic Records in 2011.[29] He appeared with Curren$y on the track "Scaling the Building" on producer Ski Beatz' 2010 album, 24 Hour Karate School.[30] Khalifa's fanbase is known as the Taylor Gang, named after his love of Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoes.[6]

Discography

Albums

Year Album Chart positions
US US R&B US Rap
2006 Show and Prove

  • Released: September 5, 2006
  • Label: Rostrum Records
  • Format: CD, digital download
 - - -
2009 Deal or No Deal

  • Released: November 24, 2009
  • Label: Rostrum Records, Taylor Gang
  • Format: CD, digital download
 - 25[31] 10[31]
2011 TBA

  • Released: 2011
  • Label: Atlantic Records
 To be released

Mixtapes

  • 2005: Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania
  • 2007: Grow Season
  • 2007: Prince of the City 2
  • 2008: Star Power
  • 2009: Flight School
  • 2009: How Fly (with Curren$y)
  • 2009: Burn After Rolling
  • 2010: Kush and Orange Juice

Singles

Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap Album
2007 "Pittsburgh Sound (All in My Blood)" - - - Show and Prove
"Youngin' on His Grind" - - - Non-album single
"Say Yeah" 119 112 20
2008 "Make It Hot" - - -
2009 "This Plane" - - - Deal or No Deal
2010 "Black and Yellow" 100 66 - TBA

References

  1. ^ a b c Richards, Dave (September 18, 2008). "He'll make it hot". Erie Times-News. Retrieved on September 18, 2008.
  2. ^ "Rising rap Wiz kid's got the right mix". Boston Herald('the edge' Boston Herald.Com). August 6, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Cordor, Cyril. "Wiz Khalifa". Allmusic. Retrieved on June 23, 2008.
  4. ^ Brotha Ash Productions interview
  5. ^ Thompson, Troy (March 12, 2010). "Wiz Khalifa Interview: SXSW 2010". spinner.com. Retrieved on March 23, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d Eustice, Kyle (October 7, 2010). "Wiz Khalifa has a global outlook on life". Westword. Retrieved on October 8, 2010.
  7. ^ "Wiz Khalifa". November 28, 2006. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on August 2, 2007.
  8. ^ Breihan, Tom (June 24, 2008). "Girl Talk's Pop-Music Car-Wreck". The Village Voice. Retrieved on June 25, 2008.
  9. ^ Burger, David (August 1, 2008). "U92's Summer Jam: Rap producers get a chance to shine ". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved on August 2, 2008.
  10. ^ a b Mervis, Scott (July 18, 2009). "Wiz Khalifa, Warner Bros. part ways". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved on July 18, 2009.
  11. ^ Tady, Scott (August 1, 2009). "A new wave hits Pittsburgh music". Beaver County Times. Retrieved on August 2, 2009.
  12. ^ Falkowski, Jamie (October 15, 2009). "CMJ ’09: Wiz Khalifa". Time Out New York, Issue 733. Retrieved on October 19, 2009.
  13. ^ McCray, Mike (November 3, 2009). "Mixtape Review: Wiz Khalifa". Creative Loafing Charlotte. Retrieved on November 8, 2009.
  14. ^ Todd, Deborah M. (November 26, 2009). "Rapper Wiz Khalifa drops 'Deal or No Deal' after frustrating time with Warner Bros.". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved on November 27, 2009.
  15. ^ Freedman, Pete (March 25, 2010). "It's Good To Make Time For A Bro, Even After SXSW and NX35.". Dallas Observer. Retrieved on April 14, 2010.
  16. ^ Noz, Andrew (March 29, 2010). "Review: Wiz Khalifa & Yelawolf @ 9:30 Club". Washington City Paper. Retrieved on April 14, 2010.
  17. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (April 14, 2010). "Wiz Khalifa's 'Kush and Orange Juice' mixtape blows up". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on April 14, 2010.
  18. ^ Ramirez, Erika (May 4, 2010). "Hip-Hop’s New Business Model: Major-Label Rappers Stay ‘Independent’". New York. Retrieved on May 15, 2010.
  19. ^ Crates, Jake (June 22, 2010). "Wiz Khalifa Sells Out Tour; Talks New Project". AllHipHop. Retrieved on June 26, 2010.
  20. ^ Ziegbe, Mawuse; Calloway, Sway (July 30, 2010). "Wiz Khalifa Was Working On Atlantic Deal 'For A Minute'" MTV. Retrieved on August 23, 2010.
  21. ^ Reid, Shaheem (July 9, 2010). "Wiz Khalifa Calls Rick Ross' 'Super High' Remix 'A Blessing'". MTV. Retrieved on September 5, 2010.
  22. ^ Johnson, Kevin. J. (June 24, 2010). "Rapper M.C. grabs attention on new mixtape". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved on June 26, 2010.
  23. ^ McCray, Mike (August 17, 2010). "Mixtape Review: Wale’s More About Nothing". Creative Loafing Charlotte. Retrieved on August 20, 2010.
  24. ^ MTV News staff (July 25, 2010). "Wiz Khalifa Is MTV News' 'Hottest Breakthrough MC Of 2010'!". Retrieved on August 11, 2010.
  25. ^ Riemensheider, Chris (May 27, 2010). "A different atmosphere at Rhymesayers". Star Tribune. Retrieved on September 3, 2010.
  26. ^ Humphress, Corey (May 27, 2010). "Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, More to Perform Full Albums at Rock the Bells 2010". Paste. Retrieved on June 2, 2010.
  27. ^ Mervis, Scott (September 2, 2010). "Local Scene: 09/02/10". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved on September 5, 2010.
  28. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (October 13, 2010). "Wiz Khalifa's "Black & Yellow" And Four Other Hot Football Fight Songs". Billboard. Retrieved on October 15, 2010.
  29. ^ Todd, Deborah M. (September 7, 2010). "Rising hip-hop stars call Pittsburgh home". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved on September 8, 2010.
  30. ^ Feldman, Nick (September 22, 2010). "Legendary Producer Ski Beatz Proves He Hasn't Missed a Beat with 24 Hour Karate School". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved on October 5, 2010.
  31. ^ a b "Wiz Khalifa > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved on September 23, 2010.

External links

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