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Wiz Khalifa

 
Artist: Wiz Khalifa
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Similar Artists:

Mos Def, Talib Kweli

Influenced By:

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Wu-Tang Clan, Three 6 Mafia
See Wiz Khalifa Lyrics
  • Active: 2000s
  • Genres: Rap
  • Instrument: Rap
  • Representative Albums: "Deal or No Deal

Biography

Possessing a keenness that belied his age, Pittsburgh, PA, rap lyricist Wiz Khalifa came to be a rising star over the course of the late 2000s based on his young bravado and hardcore yet charismatic execution of rhymes. Consciously building up his city's hip-hop reputation, he sought out to create a sound that was uniquely Pittsburgh, relying on his East Coast (Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan), Southern (Three 6 Mafia), and other (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony) hip-hop influences. A military brat, Khalifa, whose real name is Cameron Thomaz, was born in 1987 in Minot, ND. After his parents divorced when he was about age three, he lived in various places and military bases around the world before settling in Pittsburgh. He was constantly writing during that time and soaked up a great deal of knowledge from his globetrotting experiences. His first attempt at committing lyrics to paper happened around age nine, and at 12 he was already recording and producing his own records in his father's Oklahoma studio.

As soon as he returned to Pittsburgh, Khalifa laid down the groundwork to begin a solo career and kept busy recording music in a local studio, called I.D. Labs, in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of the city. Khalifa stood out among the studio's regulars, prompting the I.D. Labs staff to offer him free beats and recording time, plus bringing him to the attention of Benjy Grinberg, a former executive assistant to L.A. Reid at Arista Records who had started up a new independent label, Rostrum Records. Signed to Rostrum, Khalifa built a buzz in Pittsburgh with a few singles, but he began to draw eyes and ears nationally during his senior year in high school with his first mixtape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania, in early 2006. And with the release of his independent full-length debut, Show and Prove, later that year, major publications, including Vibe, XXL, and Rolling Stone, featured profiles on the young rapper, projecting him to be the leading voice of Pittsburgh hip-hop. A regular staple on Pittsburgh radio, Khalifa was definitely living up to that prediction, going on to sell tens of thousands of mixtapes, not to mention tens of thousands of Show and Prove copies around the country. It was only a matter of time before the major labels came looking for the stand-out Pittsburgh rapper. In summer 2007, Khalifa and Rostrum hopped on board with Warner and cut his first major-label single, "Young'n on His Grind." ~ Cyril Cordor, All Music Guide
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Wiz Khalifa

Wiz Khalifa performing in Brooklyn, New York in August 2009.
Background information
Birth name Cameron Jibril Thomaz
Born September 8, 1987 (1987-09-08) (age 22)
Minot, North Dakota, U.S.
Origin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres Hip hop
Occupations Rapper
Years active 2003–present
Labels Rostrum, Warner Bros.
Associated acts Curren$y
Website www.wizkhalifa.com

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 Billboard's Hot 100, 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, which reached No. 1 on the iTunes Store hip hop chart upon its release in November 2009.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Khalifa was born on September 8, 1987 in Minot, North Dakota to a mother and a father serving in the military.[1][2] The family moved to Pittsburgh when Khalifa was the age of two. His parents' military service caused the family to move on a regular basis. Over the last decade, Khalifa lived in the U.S., Germany, England, and Japan. Khalifa has been influenced by artists such as Jay-Z, Cam'ron, and the Notorious B.I.G. His stage name is derived from khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was fifteen.[3]

Career

Khalifa released his first mixtape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania, in 2005. The mixtape recorded sales in the thousands, leading 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.[4]

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 the 1999 single "Better Off Alone" by the Dutch electronic music group 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".[5] 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.[6] 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".[7] 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.[8]

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.[7] 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.[9] 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, "Luchini AKA This Is It" by Camp Lo, and "Best I Ever Had" by Drake.[10]

Khalifa released his second album, Deal or No Deal, on November 24, 2009. As an independent recording artist, Khalifa has focused his attention on the Internet to bring awareness to his music, posting videos on his YouTube channel, webcasting live through Ustream, attracting over 41,000 followers on Twitter, and releasing three mixtapes (with over 50 songs) during 2009. Deal or No Deal, which contains songs recorded for Warner Bros. as well as new singles, took the No. 2 spot on the iTunes Store hip hop chart two days after its release, surpassing albums by Jay-Z and 50 Cent.[11] The album reached the top 10 albums overall on the iTunes Store the week it was released, as well as reaching the No. 1 spot on iTunes' hip hop chart for a short time.[12]

Discography

Albums

Mixtapes

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
2008 "Say Yeah" 119 112 20 non-album single
"Make It Hot" - - - non-album single
2009 "This Plane" - - - Deal or No Deal

References

  1. ^ a b Richards, Dave (September 18, 2008). "He'll make it hot". Erie Times-News. Retrieved on September 18, 2008.
  2. ^ Cordor, Cyril. "Wiz Khalifa". Allmusic. Retrieved on June 23, 2008.
  3. ^ Brotha Ash Productions interview
  4. ^ "Wiz Khalifa". November 28, 2006. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on August 2, 2007.
  5. ^ Breihan, Tom (June 24, 2008). "Girl Talk's Pop-Music Car-Wreck". The Village Voice. Retrieved on June 25, 2008.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ a b Mervis, Scott (July 18, 2009). "Wiz Khalifa, Warner Bros. part ways". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved on July 18, 2009.
  8. ^ Tady, Scott (August 1, 2009). "A new wave hits Pittsburgh music". Beaver County Times. Retrieved on August 2, 2009.
  9. ^ Falkowski, Jamie (October 15, 2009). "CMJ ’09: Wiz Khalifa". Time Out New York, Issue 733. Retrieved on October 19, 2009.
  10. ^ McCray, Mike (November 3, 2009). "Mixtape Review: Wiz Khalifa". Creative Loafing Charlotte. Retrieved on November 8, 2009.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (November 30, 2009). "Wiz Khalifa: 'Deal or No Deal,' his buzz is growing". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on November 30, 2009.

Further reading

External links


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