Or, as he put it on “Black and Yellow,” “Get fly and take trips and that’s that-real rap.”Ī military kid, Khalifa (born Cameron Thomaz in 1987) spent most of his childhood bouncing around before settling in Pittsburgh. From the beginning, there was something low-key and effortless about him, a joie de vivre that made his music-“No Sleep,” “Work Hard, Play Hard,” “Mezmorized”-feel like a party. Some rappers want to take over the world Wiz Khalifa just wants to meet girls, get money, and smoke as much weed as his constitution will allow. “Know some who say life’s a bitch,” he raps on “The Race.” “Well, I’ma keep flirting.” But the sheer catchiness of the music-its sing-along choruses (“Black and Yellow”), its synthesizer sparkle (the benny blanco-produced “No Sleep”)-turn even his modest goals into the kind of anthems that elevate partying to a spiritual pursuit. Lyrically, he’s a charm offensive: He’ll be there when you call (“Roll Up”), he loves his camo shorts (“Taylor Gang”), and he wields his endless supply of joints like magic wands that, with a wave, can make the stress of daily life disappear (pretty much every song). “They say all I rap about is bitches and champagne,” he shrugs on the album-opening “When I’m Gone.” “You would too if every night you seen the same thing.” The difference with Wiz is that you can tell he’s enjoying it. And at a time when the luxurious melancholy of Drake was starting to cast its long, warm shadow over the culture, Wiz-like Snoop Dogg before him-presented himself as nothing more than a laidback dude looking for a good time. It’s a party-rap album that happily parlays party-rap traditions into modern pop songwriting and production, in ways that helped crack open the conversation for what pop and hip-hop hybrids could be. One listen and it’ll be clear why Kush & OJ remains the best mixtape of Wiz’s career thus far.Wiz Khalifa’s breakthrough wafted so casually to the top of hip-hop’s 2011 heap it’s easy to miss how accomplished it actually was. “Glass House” with Curren$y and Big K.R.I.T is another unforgettable moment on the album and draws influence from Houston rap. For example, on “The Kid Frankie,” Wiz floats on the sample beat from English R&B band Loose Ends. Wiz maintains smooth harmonies and flows throughout the project while delivering hit after hit. The themes of the album are simple and if you’re confused, Wiz gives them a shout out on the memorable cut “Never Been,” proclaiming, “And this brought to you by: Bad bitches and good weed.” Wiz’s relaxed bars on the tape is one of the main aspects of its appeal. Imagined by Khalifa as a tape you can wake and bake to, the tape consists of 15 well-crafted stoner jams. It is also the tape that established the glory of a Cardo x Wiz Khalifa collaboration and set the stage for Wiz’s mainstream success. Met with critical acclaim and commercial success, it remains one of his most identifiable works to date, spawning hits like “Mezmorized” and “In the Cut.” The tape quickly became a classic and the go-to soundtrack for an entire generation of stoners. The aptly titled tape is nothing short of iconic in every sense of the word. The orchestral production paired with his woozy bars is an undeniable match, the only flaw being its 2-minute runtime. “Hollywood Hoes” serves as one of the rapper’s most unique musical moments. “Never Ever” is a tale of victory and features some of the best lyrical moments on the tape. Pinnacles from the project include “Dreamer,” where Wiz’s laid back bars blend perfectly with the song’s stripped production, and “I’m Good,” where the young rapper delivers some of his best, most self-assured, cocky bars to date. The entire mixtape is spectacularly cohesive- it starts off on an introductory high with “Boarding Pass,” and never dips through its runtime. A project many fans associate with his “original sound,” the tape also shows the origin of Wiz’s experimentalism a number of cuts tap into the techno-fusion realm like “Get Sum” and “Teach You To Fly.” Throughout all fourteen tracks, Wiz manages to deliver an attention-grabbing performance on the mainly solo endeavor. Another tape in Wiz’s discography that can be hailed iconic, Flight School was released during Wiz’s golden era.
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