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 eurodance-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.
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 toWarner 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$y, on August 9, 2009.[10]
Khalifa introduced a more melodic style on the mixtape, alternating
between singing and rapping. He opened for Wu-Tang Clan member U-God
at the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon in New York City.[12] Khalifa released
the mixtape Burn After Rolling on November 2, 2009, where he raps
over familiar beats from other artists, including the songs "If
I Were A Boy" and "Diva" by Beyoncé, "Walking
on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun, "Luchini AKA This Is
It" by Camp Lo, and "Best I Ever Had" by Drake.[13]
Khalifa released his second album, Deal or No Deal, on November 24,
2009.[14]
Khalifa performed at Emo's in Austin, Texas in March 2010 as part
of the 2010 South by Southwest Music Festival.[15] He appeared on
the cover of XXL magazine that same month, for the magazine's annual
list of Top 10 Freshman, which included Donnis, J. Cole, Pill, Freddie
Gibbs, and Fashawn. Wiz Khalifa was named 2010 "Rookie Of The
Year" by "The Source", with alongside Rick Ross, "The
Man Of The Year".[16] He toured with rapper Yelawolf on a 20-date
tour, the Deal Or No Deal Tour.[17] Khalifa released the free mixtape
Kush and Orange Juice for download on April 14, 2010. Due to Khalifa's
devoted grassroots fan base, the mixtape became the No. 1 trending
topic on Twitter with the hash tag #kushandorangejuice, and "Kush
and Orange Juice download” ranked No. 1 on Google’s hot
search trends.[18]
Citing music industry insiders, New York magazine wrote that Khalifa
signed with Atlantic Records in April 2010, although the rapper didn't
confirm it.[19] He stated to AllHipHop in June 2010 that he was working
on a new album, but was weighing his options and hadn't yet decided
on a label to distribute it.[20] Khalifa confirmed to MTV on July
30 that he was signing an Atlantic Records deal.[21]
Wiz Khalifa on stage
Wiz Khalifa on stage in Boston in August 2010.
Khalifa was featured in a remix and video for the 2010 Rick Ross
single "Super High", alongside Curren$y.[22] He guested
on the mixtape Grey Goose, Head Phones, and Thirsty Women by St.
Louis rapper M.C,[23] and was featured on the track "The Breeze
(Cool)" on rapper Wale's August 2010 mixtape More About Nothing.[24]
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.[25]
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.[26] 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.[27] 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] On November 2010, during his "Waken
Baken" tour at East Carolina University, Wiz Khalifa was arrested
for possession and trafficking of marijuana. He was then released
the next morning after a $300K bail, and is looking to resume with
his tour. Khalifa performed in a cypher during the 2010 BET Hip-Hop
Awards. He recited his verse from the song, "The Check Point",
from his mixtape with Curren$y, How Fly.[28] Khalifa released "Black
and Yellow", his first single for Rostrum/Atlantic, produced
by Stargate, which has received radio airplay.[6][29] The single
peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100; the title of the song
refers to the colors of the Pittsburgh Steelers.[30] Khalifa will
release his debut album with Atlantic Records in 2011.[31] He appeared
with Curren$y on the track "Scaling the Building" on producer
Ski Beatz' 2010 album, 24 Hour Karate School.[32] Khalifa's fanbase
is known as the Taylor Gang, named after his love of Chuck Taylor
All-Stars shoes.[6]
Personal life
Legal troubles
After a performance at East Carolina University on November 9, 2010,
Khalifa was arrested after ECU police detected "a strong odor
of marijuana emanating from the [tour] bus and the backstage area
of the auditorium." After searching Khalifa's tour bus, authorities
found 60 grams of marijuana (the equivalent of around 2 ounces.)
Khalifa was arrested and charged with marijuana trafficking, a felony
count of maintaining a dwelling/vehicle/place for sale or storage
of marijuana, and one misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Khalifa was later released after posting a $300,000 bond, after which
he resumed his Waken Baken Tour 2010.[33]
Discography
Main article: Wiz Khalifa discography
Studio albums
* Show and Prove (2006)
* Deal or No Deal (2009)
* Rolling Papers (2011)